Pokemon: Destiny Found
by Benajah Davis
Summary: In the final installment of the Pokemon: Destiny series, three years later, Lucas has to go on daring mission to rescue his friends from Team Rocket. However, after a chain of events causes Lucas to be hunted by Team Rocket, he must embark on a new mission - destroy his lost brother's organization. Enjoy epic battles, unexpected events, and more adventures in this final book!


Pokémon

Destiny Found

Book three of three in the _Pokémon: Destiny_ series

A Fiction Novel by: Benajah C. M. Davis

Franchise Copyright ©2020 Pokémon ©1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK Inc.

Book Copyright ©2020 Benajah C.M. Davis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.

This is a work of fanfiction. All material here, except for the author's ideas, characters, events, and plot, belong to the Pokémon Company, Nintendo/Creatures Inc, and GAME FREAK Inc. This includes the franchise copyright owner's names, events, ideas, and plot. Names, characters, places, and incidents created by the author either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Prologue: The Dark Days…pg. 4

Chapter 1: Heads Will Roll….pg. 8

Chapter 2: Confrontation…pg. 16

Chapter 3: Answers…pg. 24

Chapter 4: R…pg. 31

Chapter 5: Biohazard…...pg. 41

Chapter 6: Frenemies…..pg. 51

Chapter 7: Arcade…pg. 56

Chapter 8: Don't Mess with Us…pg. 63

Chapter 9: Ghost…..pg. 70

Chapter 10: The First Collapse…pg. 75

Chapter 11: Hunted….pg. 79

Chapter 12: Run…..pg. 85

Chapter 13: Hope in the Forest…pg. 90

Chapter 14: Take Me Home…pg. 96

Chapter 15: The Hunters Emerge…pg. 101

Chapter 16: Not Like This…...pg. 105

Chapter 17: Remember…pg. 110

Chapter 18: The Battle for Freedom…pg. 115

Chapter 19: Plans Always Change…..pg. 127

Chapter 20: Through the Night's Silence…pg. 132

Chapter 21: The Base of the Mountain…pg. 136

Chapter 22: The Last Resort….pg. 143

Chapter 23: Parker…pg. 152

Epilogue: Time is Dancing…...pg. 164

Reference Table of Pokémon Mentioned….pg. 169

Prologue: The Dark Days

A young man, who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, sat in a large chair reading a paper. He had a heap of red hair on his head, piercing black eyes, and a small pointed nose. This man's name was Silver.

Anger shone through his soul as he reflected upon his family whilst reading the newspaper.

It read: "'Lucas Parker, Age Thirteen, Found in Viridian City.' Lucas Parker has recently been found in Viridian City battling the city's gym leader, Giovanni. The boy had been missing for approximately three weeks after a mysterious house fire on the outskirts of Kanto. Eyewitnesses and reports claim the gym leader was the boy's long-lost father, and Lucas beat him in the final round."

Silver ripped the paper in two, crumpled the pieces into balls, and threw them across the dimly-lit room. As the son of Giovanni himself, he was kept up to date on all of his father's business, and as such, he knew and supported Team Rocket. Seeing a brother he didn't even know discover his father's secrets angered him immensely. And now that Lucas knew about Team Rocket, Silver was bound to not let him destroy his father's organization.

Standing up from his chair, he said to nobody, "I'm coming for you, Lucas Parker. I won't let you stop us! You can count on it!"

ʘ - Three Years Later - ʘ

Lucas, now a rough sixteen-year-old, stood alone in the back corner of an empty gym. However, this was not a Pokémon Gym. It was a normal gym, where people could work out and relax. He stared at himself in a mirror.

Today, like many days before this, he was wearing a black work-out shirt and black work-out shorts, with old sneakers that had seen more adventures than his toes cared to remember.

He could feel his muscles popping each time he lifted a weight. The pain seemed to calm his mind, in a strange way… most of the time. Today, however, it did not. He counted how many times he lifted one of the large weights, and each time he did, he would have haunting memories.

"16…"

_He's unable to save his mother as a fireball consumes his house._

"17…"

_Lugia devastates an entire wall as he blows a Salamence into it._

"18…"

_Mew eradicates a forest in a massive explosion against Team Rocket._

"19…"

_Giovanni betrays him after years of hoping he'd find his father again._

"20…"

_He stands in the middle of a forest, screaming desperately for his friends._

The weights slammed to the ground with an echo that reverberated throughout the entire building. That last vision shook him to his core every time he remembered it. About a year and a half after defeating his father, Giovanni, he camped in the woods with his friends, Jack and Lily. Agreeing to stay behind, they guarded camp while Lucas and his best friend Charizard went on a solo mission. When Lucas returned, they were missing, and all that was left at the camp was a note. The note had one word on it: Silver.

No matter how far and wide he had searched, he was never able to find his two friends.

The television that was playing the news above his head took his thoughts away. A newscaster was talking about an upcoming tournament in Sinnoh. "…one of the largest crowds to ever assemble this weekend!" the newscaster was saying. "However, there's still time to enroll in the matches, so get there before-" the television cut off, and Lucas fumbled with the remote. Then, static filled the screen, with distorted voices coming through the speakers. Finally, it settled on the shape of a shadow.

"Hello, Lucas Parker," the shadow spoke. "I know you see me, somewhere out there. Remember good ol' Team Rocket? We're still around."

Lucas ran to the window, looking out at the streets of whatever town he was in (he had lost track of how many places he had been, and didn't bother to look at road signs any longer). Every TV in the town was flickering with the mysterious cast, and people were crowding around to hear the shadow speak. His Pokédex also lit up, displaying the same message.

"You still want to find your friends? I know where they are. But I'll only tell you at a price… beat us in the Sinnoh Tournament. Decide not to come? Oh well, your loss," the voice said in a menacing tone. "But you'll never see them again if you don't. I'd suggest coming, if I were you."

The message turned off, shifting back to the news channel. "W-Wait. We're receiving reports from multiple regions that a broadcast has been sent out on all frequencies," the newswoman stated nervously. "It appears to be summoning Lucas Parker, who went missing and was found later after his house burnt down three years ago."

Lucas switched off the television and proceeded to angrily punch the mirror in front of him, sending shards of glass everywhere. Pulling out his friend's pokéball, he tossed it, and Charizard appeared in front of him, a look of confusion on his face as he looked around the gym.

"Something wrong?" the dragon chuckled.

"Yeah, something's wrong, all right," Lucas replied. Charizard could see the anger on Lucas' face. "Team Rocket has Jack and Lily. And we're going to find them."

Chapter 1: Heads Will Roll

The train ride to Sinnoh was a hefty four hours, even at close to three hundred miles per hour. Lucas, Charizard, and Mew stared out the window in the back car of a bullet train, watching trees and small houses whiz by along the adjacent Route 222. Lucas didn't know why Mew had decided to come out of his pokéball. Perhaps to comfort him, and ease his mind? If that was the case, it wasn't working.

Thoughts rolled in his head faster than the magnetic train he had snuck into. He couldn't shake the thought that Team Rocket had captured his friends, and had been holding them hostage for a year and a half. A part of him refused to believe it, actually. A year and a half? Just thinking of how long they had been captured for made him sick to his stomach.

He felt Charizard put a clawed hand on his shoulder. He looked at his friend, and gave a strained smile. Charizard, however, could smell the rage, sadness, and fear behind those teeth.

"We'll get them, don't worry," Charizard calmly said to Lucas.

"What if we're too late?" Lucas replied meekly. This fear had been all too prominent for the past day or so, ever since the broadcast.

"That's not possible. We'll actually get there earlier than expected," the dragon stated, looking at the clock near the roof of the train car.

Mew put a small, pawed hand on Lucas' other shoulder. Immediately, he felt a strange feeling of calm sweep over him, almost as if a large weight had been lifted from his mind.

His thoughts returned to how they had been before. This time, however, they reflected upon himself.

_I've been changing_, he thought. It was true. Over the past three years, especially since Jack and Lily's disappearance, he had grown increasingly angrier. His personality remained the same, however. He was still adventurous, mostly happy, and had a desire to help everyone that needed it, but he had grown more serious, angry, and determined to find justice. These feelings had corrupted him, in a way.

_It's of no importance. Charizard, Lugia, and Mew all think highly of me still, even though they've seen the change. I need to keep my head up,_ he reassured himself.

The rest of the train ride was quiet, and didn't seem to last as long as Lucas had thought it would. Before he knew it, the train came to a halt at Sunnyshore City, in the Sinnoh region.

Sunnyshore City was a group of large rocks just off the mainland of Sinnoh. It consisted of three large rock-cities, with the largest one housing the train station and many tall buildings.

Lucas suddenly remembered that he didn't have a ticket. "Guys! Come on," he hissed to Charizard and Mew, "I need you both to get into your pokéballs! We're sneaking off."

"How? Security at the doors is pretty high. Wait… you don't have a ticket?" Charizard asked.

"I don't have money, you know that. I snuck onto the train. And who said anything about doors?" Lucas replied with a smug grin.

"You… dear god, Lucas. I guess you haven't actually changed one bit, have you?" Charizard laughed. Lucas never ceased to amaze him with his wits.

Lucas aimed both pokéballs at Mew and Charizard, who disappeared into them with a flash. He looked out the windows of the train, examining how many guards there were. He counted seven.

He ran to the other side of the train, looking out the window. No guards, no people. _Perfect, _he thought to himself.

Lucas put on a hoodie, grabbed his backpack, and undid the latches on the window. Gently, he opened the large glass frames into the air and jumped out of the train. Not bothering to close them, he walked off.

The train started to sound its horn, and it was at this moment he realized that the train was departing. If he didn't make an escape now, the guards would see him. He silently ran to a nearby exit, and just as the train started to pull away in reverse with alarming acceleration, he ducked into the opening.

Lucas let out a big sigh of relief as he pulled out a map of the city he found in the train. He still had a few hours to get to the tournament, and the complex was only an hour's walk away to a nearby rock-island, so he took the time to examine the map further. To the west was Ryme City near the coast of the mainland, and all around Sunnyshore City was ocean.

He crossed his eyes before setting off down the exit tunnel. Today was the day he got his friends back.

ʘ

Lucas stepped into the massive arena complex, eyes wandering underneath a hoodie. Security guards were everywhere, but thankfully were paying no mind to him, as there were dozens of people around. Pokémon were following behind their trainers, and he even saw a Salamence slowly meandering behind a tattooed trainer. He noticed that the interior was similar to that of a baseball stadium, with stalls of food lining the walls, souvenirs, and beer for legal-aged people.

Walking over to the registration desk, he was greeted with a look of shock from the woman behind the table.

"You're… you're…" she stuttered.

"Shh," Lucas replied. He filled out the paperwork in silence as she looked on, still with her mouth open.

Intentionally, he left his name blank. He wasn't here for attention, and didn't need to cause a gossip fire because of the broadcast. He told this to the woman, and she promised to put his name as "Unknown Trainer." Thanking her, Lucas walked away towards the prep room.

Hours passed. Before he knew it, names were being called on the loudspeaker in the prep rooms. An announcer with a deep voice spoke, teaming up trainers for two-on-two matches. "Our second match of the night will be… wait… who are these guys?" the announcer cut off. "Umm… yes, they're in the system, Rob, I'm not stupid… Okay, our second match of the night will be an 'Unknown Trainer' paired with Sigehelm, against Charlotte and 'TRG.' This match will begin after the first."

"TRG, TRG… Team Rocket Goon… That's the guy! That's the bloody guy!" Lucas said.

As if on cue, a boy walked into the dressing room, with a Pokémon by his side. Charizard, who had popped out of his pokéball, glanced up at the boy in unison with Lucas.

This boy had a head of snow-white hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and a smile that stretched from ear to ear. He was wearing black boots, black pants, and what appeared to be a red shirt underneath a dark grey trench coat.

"Hey!" the boy said. "My name's Sigehelm, but you can just call me Sige. Nice to… oh, god. You're…"

"Oh, great, here we go again," Lucas said as the boy trailed off. "Yes, I'm Lucas Parker. Big shock, I know."

"So, you must be here… to find your friends…" Sige said in shock.

"Yep," he replied. Pointing at the screen, he stated, "And that man has all the information I need."

The large Pokémon next to Sige gave a snort of confusion. It looked like a huge tortoise, but Lucas didn't recognize it, and he had never seen anything like it before. It had two horizontal horns on its turtle-like head, but covered with leaves. It had a brown and green body, and large feet that had massive claws. Its colossal shell had a patch of grass near the edge with a tree growing out of it. The rest of the area was covered in weeds, dirt, and what appeared to be structures similar to stalagmites.

Pulling out his Pokédex, Lucas aimed it at the creature to get a better understanding of it. It beeped out: "Torterra, the ground tortoise Pokémon. Large groups of this Pokémon searching for water have been mistaken as 'moving forests.' Some Pokémon build nests in the tree on its back. On rare occasions, a Pokémon will be born on the back of a Torterra, and spend its entire life there."

"Cool, isn't he?" Sige asked.

"Yeah…" Lucas trailed off as he put away the Pokédex and stared at the figure on the TV.

"Do you know who he is? And why does he have your friends?" the boy asked further.

"No… no, I don't. All I know is that he's part of Team Rocket. I don't know why he has my friends, but I know that I have to find them, and soon," Lucas replied.

"Wait… Team Rocket? But I heard they were, like, wiped out almost two and a half years ago!" Sige said in shock.

"What? Are you serious? Then… how are they… my friends went missing a year and a half ago, because of them! What do you mean, they were wiped out?" Lucas asked in confusion.

"Apparently, this kid named Red found out about Team Rocket, and challenged Giovanni to a duel. Giovanni lost, and fled to the Sevii Islands," Sige explained. Lucas' face took on a look of shock after he connected the puzzle pieces. That means the only person who Giovanni could trust to bring his criminal empire back from the ground was…

"Silver…"

"Who? Who's Silver?" Sige asked, now confused as well.

"Silver, my… my brother. He left four years before I was born, but… how?" Lucas said.

"What do you mean?"

Resigning himself to the fact that he would have to tell Sigehelm the truth, he opened up. "Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but you have to believe me. Giovanni is my… father. About six years ago, he abandoned my family to found Team Rocket. Three years ago, I found him and battled him out of revenge, beating him. Silver is my long-lost brother, who left four years before I was born. That means that the only person who could take over Team Rocket after Giovanni's disappearance is Silver," Lucas explained, not expecting the boy to believe him at all. Charizard gave Lucas a look, implying that he screwed up bad.

"Are you crazy, Lucas?" Charizard asked him. "He's never going to believe you!" Still, Lucas waited for a reply.

"Oh my god… so you're Giovanni's lost son. It… it all makes sense now! Silver may be trying to stop you from destroying Team Rocket again, because you know about it! Which means that this is one of his goons!" Sige cried.

Lucas nodded, remembering the note he found in the woods.

"Which also means that they're probably going to cheat in this tournament. They'll do anything to keep me from finding my friends, because if I do, they think I'll come after them," Lucas said after a pause.

"So, how can we beat them?" Charizard asked.

"I don't know…" Lucas replied.

"Wait… did you… can you understand your Charizard?" Sige asked in amazement. "I've heard that if a trainer has an incredibly strong bond with their partner, they can develop psychic powers to communicate."

"Yeah. He saved me, after… my house burnt down, and my mother died. Ever since then, we're inseparable," he responded. "But that's the past. What matters now is that we will always stick by each other's side." In response to this, Charizard put a hand over Lucas' shoulder and smiled.

The announcer came on over the loudspeaker. "Our winners for the first three matches have been decided! Next up is Sigehelm and 'Unknown Trainer' versus Charlotte and 'TRG!' Trainers, please step out onto the field!"

"This is it, isn't it?" Sigehelm asked.

"Yeah… today, I find my friends. Go, I'll meet you out there," Lucas replied.

"Got it. Come on, Torterra!" Sigehelm said, as he ran for the arena entrance. The tortoise followed in a swaying run, bits of dirt flying off of its back.

"Are you ready, Charzy?" Lucas asked in confidence.

In response, the dragon nodded his head and cracked his three-fingered hands, before replying, "I'm ready."

Lucas took out his black hoodie, put it on, grabbed his sash of pokéballs, and walked to the exit. He looked at the screen one more time, which ignited a fire in his eyes, and he vowed that he would do whatever it takes to get his friends back.

Chapter 2: Confrontation

Lucas slowly walked out the arena doors, Charizard right behind him. His hoodie was covering his eyes, yet he could still see in front of him. Over and over he had to tell himself, _This is for Jack and Lily. I can do this. I can do this, _to calm himself down.

He pushed open the arena doors, and was flooded with light. He looked around slowly, taking in his surroundings.

The arena was absolutely huge. He noticed that this battleground dwarfed the one at the Viridian City Gym, and the packed stands surrounding it were incredibly massive. Security and camera crews were lining the edges of the field, underneath the stands and behind bullet-proof glass.

Sigehelm was on the battle ground to the left, Torterra beside him. On the adjacent side of the field were two other trainers. One of them appeared normal, as she was wearing a black skirt, lime-green shoes, and a purple top. He name was displayed on a massive game screen: Charlotte. The other person caught Lucas' eye.

He was wearing what appeared to be a grey mechanic's uniform, but upon closer inspection, Lucas noticed he was wearing a grey t-shirt and grey shorts, with boots that reached up to his knee. His gloves stretched to his elbows, and he had a sash of pokéballs tightly wrapped around his torso. His all-grey fedora covered his eyes. This was 'TGR.'

Lucas crossed his eyes, and started out the door he had pushed open a minute ago. Walking out, the stands came into full view and a drone flew past him, obviously recording. Then, all went silent.

The flashes of cameras and the cheering suddenly stopped as Lucas walked out, and he could see that the crowd was all looking at him. Sigehelm looked quizzically at the crowd, before turning around and facing Lucas.

"YOU!" Lucas shouted at the goon across from him, pointing a finger. "YOU HAVE WHAT I NEED, AM I'M GOING TO TAKE IT!" He reached up and pulled his hoodie behind his head, revealing his face. In response, the crowd gasped and started murmuring amongst themselves. Even the announcers were quiet. Charlotte, the girl next to the goon, looked over at him with a look of shock.

The goon gave a shiny smile, before responding, "Not if the boss has anything to say about it, Lucas. And for the record… remember me as Greygar."

Angered by this, he took his position on the field and glared at the goon, Greygar. Charizard leapt in front of him, clawed hands balled in fists. Sigehelm whipped out a pokeball, even though Torterra was behind him, and he had a look of nervousness on his face.

The referee stepped out onto the field, eying Lucas and Greygar up. "I have my eyes on you two. The whole world is watching this, remember, so keep it fair," he said to both teams. Lucas noted that it seemed more directed at him and Greygar, but he ignored it and readied himself.

"Ready…battle!" the referee shouted. Greygar tossed his pokéball onto the field, as did Charlotte. All of them popped open in a bright flash of light, revealing the Pokémon within.

Greygar's Pokémon was a large, green creature with leaves sticking out if its arms and head. It had yellow spheres on its back, with a red stripe across its torso and a tree for a tail. On its head, it had two crests and a red underjaw.

Lucas pulled out his Pokédex, and it read out loud: "Sceptile, the Forest Pokémon. Sceptile is adept at climbing, and will often be seen leaping amongst branches. It attacks its opponents from high above their heads."

He crossed his eyes as he put away his Pokédex. Then, Lucas noticed that Sigehelm had actually put away his pokéball, and had instead decided to send out his Torterra. Charlotte had thrown out a Raichu, and this was a little disconcerting to Lucas, as he vividly remembered that this was the same Pokémon that he had faced off with before Mew destroyed an entire forest. However, he shook the feeling of discomfort away and reminded himself not to get cold feet.

Immediately, Lucas took the offensive. "Charizard, start off with a Quick Attack on Sceptile!" he shouted. Charizard bolted into the sky with his wings flapping vigorously, before searing down and ramming straight into the green Pokémon. Sceptile, who was still preparing to attack, tried to dodge the dragon. However, the attempt was too late, and the Sceptile instead found itself skidding across the dirt ground on its back. It got up with no time to spare, and glared at Charizard, who was still flying in the sky.

"Come on, Sceptile!" Greygar shouted, "Bring him down to his knees! Use an X-Scissor attack!" To this, Lucas cocked his head in confusion. Charizard landed on the ground in front of Lucas, unaware of the incoming attack.

Sceptile's claws extended further than they already were, and the leaves on his arms began to shine in the sun.

_He's… sharpening the leaves on his arms. Oh, no…_ Lucas thought.

Just as soon as Lucas thought this, the Pokémon began to run at Charizard full tilt. It was blindingly fast as it sprinted on its clawed feet.

"Charizard! Charizard, look out!" Lucas shouted. However, it was too late. The Sceptile skidded on one knee, before slashing upwards at incredible speed. Its arms crossed, and the claws and leaves scraped across Charizard's face. Most of them missed, but two of them found their marks. One slashed Charizard over his snout at an angle, and the other hit just underneath his eye. Both left deep gashes that instantly started to bleed.

Wiping the small amount of blood off of his nose, Charizard grew enraged and shot out a large, orange, hot fire at the Pokémon who had just slashed him. The burst of flame hit its mark, staggering the Sceptile for a second, and Charizard used this opportunity to grab the Sceptile's tail.

The Sceptile shrieked in fright as he was dragged across the ground towards the dragon, too weak to match the strength of Charizard. Slowly picking him up, Charizard growled at the creature. Then, he chucked the Pokémon all the way across the arena, and heard Sceptile hit the ground with a thud directly in front of Greygar.

"Ah… that's going to leave a mark," Charizard said, turning around to Lucas.

"Are you good?" Lucas asked, a little worried. "It looks pretty bad."

"Nah, it's fine. I've had worse. It's just a little blood, after all," Charizard responded, wiping his snout. Lucas looked over and saw Sigehelm battling Charlotte. He was winning by a longshot, as Torterra rammed its head into her Raichu and sent it flying. He looked over at Lucas and gave a thumbs-up. Lucas nodded, and turned back to Greygar.

Apparently, Charizard throwing Greygar's Sceptile was enough to knock it out. A new Pokémon was out next to him in the span of two seconds, and what Lucas saw stunned him. A massive dinosaur-like Pokémon towered over Greygar's side of the arena.

"Good luck getting past my Tyrantrum!" Greygar shouted.

Lucas, again, drew out his Pokédex in a flash. It beeped out, "Tyrantrum, the despot Pokémon. Tyrantrum was a dinosaur Pokémon that lived over 100 million years ago, and was recently genetically reconstructed in a lab. Its jaws are so powerful it can crunch a car with ease."

Staring at it in awe, Lucas noted fantastic details about the beast. The Tyrantrum was strikingly similar to a T-Rex. However, it had a spiked line of feathers across its back near its shoulder blades. Around these feathers and down its back were red and yellow scales. It was red, with a white underbelly, and it had sharp, black claws on short, stubby arms.

The crowd gasped in awe at the massive beast. "Charizard, return to the pokéball! I've got an idea," Lucas said. Charizard disappeared with a thumbs-up.

Slowly, Lucas pulled out his Premier Ball. He could almost feel the vibrations from Lugia inside the ball, as Lugia could sense the coming battle. The announcers kicked in on the speakers the minute he did this.

"Woah! Is that a Premier Ball? Is that even legal? …Yes? It is? Okay," the announcers said. Lucas tuned them out. Sigehelm stared at him in amazement, obviously not expecting Lucas to pull a move like this.

"You and me both, Lucas!" Sigehelm yelled. He pulled out a Premier Ball of his own, giving a thumbs up. Lucas gave him a look of shock, before grinning and returning the gesture.

"Come on, Lugia," Lucas cried. "Let's do this!"

He tossed the white pokéball into the air, where it burst open in a blinding, blue-white light. Lugia appeared on the ground, ready to battle.

The Tyrantrum leaned down and appeared to press its nose into Greygar's shirt. In turn, Greygar started petting the snout of the dinosaur, while reaching into his pocket. Lucas carefully watched him, wondering what he was doing.

Greygar pulled out a vile, which had a purple gas dancing around the inside of the container. He popped it open, and the Tyrantrum sniffed all of the gas into its nostrils. Immediately, it became enraged and started to look around with crazy eyes.

Lucas knew what he was seeing. Greygar was cheating by giving drugs to his Tyrantrum, and it was evident by the way the dinosaur's eyes started glowing purple. It let out a massive roar, and stared Lugia down with blind rage.

"What is that stuff? I can't see it from here!" Sigehelm yelled over, finished with his first battle.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's making that Tyrantrum have a tantrum!" Lucas shouted back.

The referee stepped forward. "Lucas and Sigehelm are the victors of the first match! The second match begins now! Ready… battle!" he said.

"Tyrantrum, use Head Smash!" Greygar shouted, unphased by the legendary beast across the field from him. Immediately, the Pokémon charged forward with its head bent down. Lugia prepared to dodge the attack, but the drugs gave the dinosaur increased speed, and it was upon Lugia before he could react. It rammed into Lugia, who skidded in the dirt, still on his feet.

"Lugia, use gust to blow it back!" Lucas shouted.

"I…can't! He's too strong! It… won't do anything against him!" Lugia replied, still struggling to hold back the massive dinosaur.

"If you can wreck a reinforced gym, you can do this! Just give it a try!" Lucas said.

Lugia jumped back into the air, before pumping the air in front of him with his massive wings. The shockwave rammed into the enraged beast, sending it stumbling backwards.

"Now, give it a good shock with Psybeam!" Lucas shouted. Lugia flew even higher, preparing to attack. Unlike his Aeroblast attack, which used the surrounding air, a beam of light shone into the back of his head from the sun's rays. Before long, his head started to glow a brilliant white, and in a split second, a purple beam shot out of his eyes. This beam shot directly into the chest of the Tyrantrum, and in turn, the dinosaur flew back past Greygar close to the stands.

Lucas looked over towards Sigehelm, who was still battling Charlotte. He was using a different Pokémon, which was a large, liquid metal beast. It had a massive hex nut for a head, with a floating black eye, and it was partially submerged in the liquid mercury body. There was another hex nut through its chest, which exposed the other side of it, and along its arms were large ball joints. It had a tail of red wires.

"Get up, Tyrantrum! Use Dragon Claw!" Greygar shouted. Lucas snapped back into focus, preparing a plan for the incoming attack. Immediately, the dinosaur got up, eyes raging. The drugs appeared to be getting weaker, but the Tyrantrum was still extremely angry. It charged forward again, claws extended, straight towards where Lugia had just perched.

"Let's finish this, Lugia! Use Aeroblast!" Lucas shouted.

Lugia nodded, flew a few feet into the air, and shrieked extraordinarily loud. A large, blue, rippling ball of energy appeared in front of his blue chest, and he extended his wings beside him.

The Tyrantrum jumped into the air at the same time Lugia released the attack. A thousand-mile-per-hour wind soared from the ball of energy and hit the Tyrantrum, knocking it back. The shockwave rippled across the arena, passing Greygar and slamming into the glass-barricaded stands. Dust and dirt were upturned in the attack, and hovered in the air along the path of the wind.

The dinosaur didn't fare so well. It was slouched against the arena glass, which was cracked and broken, eyes closed. Greygar looked at his Pokémon, dozens of feet away, and turned back to Lucas, mouth agape.

Lucas returned Lugia to the Premier Ball. "Good job, Lugia!" he said as the legendary Pokémon disappeared. Sigehelm, at the same time, finished up his battle against what appeared to be a yellow humanoid Pokémon. It had a pendulum strung around its fingers, and had a tuft of white hair around its neck. The head of the creature appeared to be that of an Egyptian cat-god. It was sprawled out in front of Charlotte, who had a look of disappointment on her face.

"Charlotte's Hypno and Greygar's Tyrantrum are unable to battle, which means Lucas and Sigehelm are the winners of the tournament! Congratulations, trainers!" the referee shouted.

Lucas turned around on his heel, put the hood back over his head, and started walking towards the dressing room. Charizard popped out of his pokéball, and started walking alongside Lucas. Sigehelm stared at him blankly, with his Torterra and metal-creature following his gaze.

"It's over," Lucas said to the silent crowd and announcers on the way out.

Chapter 3: Answers

Lucas stormed into the dressing room with Charizard, frantically grabbing his belongings. He had no time to waste if he was going to catch Greygar. Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, he ran out into the concession area. People stopped what they were doing, looking at him with blank stares, but some people started cheering for him.

He started to run through the crowd of people, shoving them out of the way, with Charizard following beside him. Lucas looked up at him, noticing the small amount of dried blood under his eye and on his snout. However, he gave Lucas a nod as they ran down the corridor., assuring him that he'd be alright.

Eventually, he made it to the other side of the stadium. Greygar's dressing room was through a metal door near a hot dog station. As he walked over to the door, the people serving the hot dogs stopped and stared at him, as did everyone else in his vicinity. He ignored them, and was about to open the door when a security officer stopped him.

"You can't go in there, son. Trainers only," the officer said in a blank tone. Without speaking, Lucas removed his hoodie to show his face. At this, the officer went silent, and started to realize what was going on. He raised his hands in the air and backed away from the door, eyes wide.

Lucas kicked open the door as hard as he could. Across the locker room, Greygar was frantically packing all of his pokéballs into a satchel.

"You!" Lucas shouted. Greygar fell down in shock, staring at Lucas with wild eyes. "You know what you owe me!"

Regaining his composure, Greygar stood up and gave Lucas a smile. "Ah, I was just about to leave. Too late, I suppose," he said casually.

Lucas stormed over to him, getting in his face. "You better start talking, or I'll get that officer outside to make you," Lucas said. "Now, I don't want to have to ask you again. Where are Jack and Lily?"

"Well, we didn't shake on an agreement, did we?" Greygar asked in a joking manner. This set Lucas off completely, and even Charizard had to step back due to Lucas' anger. He rushed Greygar, grabbing his shirt collar and backing him to a wall. Over a year of constant workouts payed off, and Lucas lifted him up the wall by about a foot.

"WHERE ARE THEY?!" he screamed in Greygar's face, vein in his temple popping and eyes bulging with unbridled rage.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you!" Greygar rasped, now frightened and trembling.

The door creaked open on the other side of the room, and Lucas noticed Sigehelm's head poking out of the crack. He had a mixed look of fear and shock on his face. Clearly, he was not expecting to walk into a scene such as this.

"Leave, Sigehelm! I can handle this on my own," Lucas said.

"I have some information for you that might prove useful, so I think I'll stick around," Sigehelm said in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Very well. Now, Greygar… open up!" Lucas angrily whispered in his face.

"They're… they're in Celadon City! There! Now let me go!" he cried.

"Not so fast, goon. Where in Celadon City?" Lucas asked further.

"In the Game Corner! They're in the Celadon City Game Corner. It's an arcade with a hidden smoke shop and Team Rocket hideout underneath," Greygar said in a rushed manner.

"How do you know this? Who told you?" Lucas prodded.

"I know because… because I'm the one who captured them. But… but wait! I was just following orders, I swear!" he responded as he noticed Charizard's throat swelling with fire.

"Who told you to capture them? WHO?!" Lucas shouted in his face.

"The boss… I'd rather die than tell you where he is, but… he goes by the name Silver," the grunt responded. Lucas' eyes went wide with shock.

Lucas dropped him to the ground, and he fell to his knees, caressing his neck. After contemplating what the goon told him, he realized that if the basement was hidden, there would be some sort of code to get in. He shoved Greygar back to the ground, and ripped a wallet out of his shirt pocket. Inside was a Team Rocket ID card, which was masked as a Pokémon trainer's license (all trainers were required to get a trainer's license from their regional professor, although Lucas didn't have one for obvious reasons). He pocketed this, and snatched Greygar's fedora, which had a faded "R" on it.

"I'll take these, thank you. If it's guarded, then I'll need a way to get in," Lucas said to the goon, who stared at him in silence.

Turning around, Lucas asked Sigehelm, "Okay, so what information do you have for me?"

"I have a contact by the name of Looker. He's a private investigator who does research on various criminal organizations. Right now, he's stationed in Ryme City, a few miles to the west of this city," Sigehelm told him. "He can help you. Here's his card." Sigehelm handed him a glossed card, with the name "Looker" and photo of him. The photo depicted a man who appeared to be in his late thirties, dressed in a tan-brown trench coat and a black-red shirt, with greased brown hair and black eyes.

Greygar looked at the two of them. "Are you finished with me now, or what?" he asked.

"Leave. And make sure I never see you again," Lucas responded.

Greygar crossed his eyes. "Gladly," he said with an evil smile.

The series of events that followed were so blindingly fast, that even Sigehelm and Torterra had to retreat to the other side of the room.

Greygar whipped out a syringe with a short, sharp needle. It had a purple fluid inside of it that Lucas recognized as the same chemical that he had used on his Tyrantrum. Giving Lucas a sly look, he swung his arm at Charizard and impaled the syringe in his neck. An auto-injection system kicked in, and the fluid rushed into Charizard's vein, causing the area to turn a hideous shade of orange-blue. Veins around the area turned a dark blue, and Charizard shrieked in pain as Greygar ran out the door.

Immediately after Greygar's escape, Charizard's eyes turned a glowing purple color, and he let out a massive roar. He started thrashing around, denting lockers with his tail and shooting fire everywhere.

"Charizard!" Lucas cried. "Charizard, settle down!" However, Charizard turned to him and charged him. Grabbing Lucas, he roared in his face before slamming him against a wall. Lucas collapsed to the floor, and barely managed to roll onto his back before the dragon's tail smashed into where he was a second before.

Sigehelm's Torterra attempted to rush Charizard, and the attack worked. The tortoise's head rammed into Charizard's side, knocking him over. Torterra looked at Lucas and gave a nod, before realizing that the dragon had gotten up with lightning speed and was charging at him. Charizard grabbed Torterra's two horns and shoved the Pokémon across the dressing room on its side, removing him from the fight.

"Charizard, stop! It's me, Lucas! Please!" Lucas shouted in desperation. He tried to whip out Charizard's pokéball, but it was smacked out of his hand by his companion's flaming tail.

Lucas attempted to crawl backwards on his back, trying to escape his infected friend, but Charizard noticed this and pursued him. Just as Lucas was about to get up onto his feet, Charizard slashed diagonally at his face and scored a direct hit.

For a second, Lucas went blind in his left eye. He slowly regained his vision, only to lose it again when blood poured down into his field of vision. With his right eye, he looked up at Charizard with pleading eyes, before covering his face. However, the attack never came.

"Oh, god… what happened?" Charizard said, standing still. "Oh, my god… Lucas, are you-"

"Stay away from me! Get back!" Lucas cried in terror, backing away.

"Lucas, it's me! It's okay. I promise, I'm not going to hurt you," Charizard said. He grabbed Lucas' hand and pulled him to his feet. "What happened?" the dragon asked.

"You… that drug… Greygar swung a needle into your neck with that chemical in it…" Lucas stuttered. Charizard reached up to his neck and pulled out the syringe, which had somehow stayed in his neck throughout the rampage.

"Oh my god, Lucas! Your eye!" the dragon cried. Lucas' eye had a deep scratch running from his forehead down to his cheek at a diagonal, directly over his eye. "Did… did I do that?" he asked.

"Yeah… ah, man, it hurts… don't worry about it, though. It wasn't your fault. That drug did it, not you…" Lucas said, clutching the left side of his face.

"I'm so sorry!" Charizard cried. Lucas could hear the fear in his voice. Clearly, he didn't understand what was going on. Sigehelm noticed this, and came over.

"Are you okay, Lucas?" Sigehelm asked.

"Yeah… I'll be fine," Lucas responded.

"That drug was called 'R,'" Sigehelm told Lucas. "The drug can be dispersed as a gas or consumed as a liquid. Once digested or injected, the Pokémon infected will go absolutely berserk and attack anything living, in some cases even its trainers. All of its attacks are amplified, and it causes the Pokémon to lose all memories of the attacks."

"Wait… R… that sounds familiar. Wasn't there a massive chemical outbreak in Ryme City three years ago, with the same substance? I think… yeah! That kid, Tim Goodman, and his partner solved the case and shut down the operation, right?"

"Exactly. But how would Team Rocket get their hands on it? Greygar must have gotten it from somewhere," Sigehelm pointed out. Lucas thought about this for a minute as he grabbed some alcohol swabs from a nearby medicine cabinet.

"Wait… so if this goon had it, he obviously got it from the source that made it… so that means it's still being produced in Ryme City!" Lucas said. At this, Sigehelm's face dropped.

"Team Rocket must be trying to mass produce it…" he said.

"And if that's the case… my brother is behind it all. I have to get to Ryme City and find Looker," Lucas said.

"Wait! Before you go, you might want to see a doctor. Or, better yet," Sigehelm rummaged through his bag, pulling out a potion bottle. "Here. Usually, you use potions on Pokémon, however they can be used on people too. It'll speed up the healing process."

"Thanks," Lucas said as he closed his eyes and sprayed the potion on his wound. "I appreciate it a lot."

"Don't mention it," Sigehelm said. His Torterra gave a snort behind him, and the boy scratched him behind his horns.

"Hey, do you want to come with me?" Lucas asked after a minute. "The more, the merrier."

"Nah, I can't. I'm on a journey of my own. But thanks for the offer," he responded. "Hey, Charizard. Take care of Lucas, okay? You two are perfect together. Keep it that way." Charizard looked up at Sigehelm and gave a smile with a nod. He grabbed Lucas and pulled him to his side.

"Are you okay?" Charizard asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, don't worry about it. Thanks, pal," Lucas responded.

"Oh, and Lucas?" Sigehelm said. Lucas looked at the boy. "Good luck finding your friends." His Torterra nodded behind him, before shaking some excess dirt off of his back.

"Thanks," Lucas replied. He turned to the door, and before he walked out, he gave one last look at Sigehelm and smiled.

_Off to Ryme City, _Lucas thought. _I'm coming, guys. Just hang on._

Chapter 4: R

Lucas walked along the bridge of Route 222 towards the mainland, away from Sunnyshore City. In the distance, he could see the faint outline of skyscrapers and arches. Looking at the map, he discerned this as Ryme City.

Charizard walked beside him, near the edge of the bridge. He looked at Lucas and examined his face.

"How are you feeling?" Charizard asked. "Is your eye okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Wish I had a mirror, though," Lucas replied with a chuckle.

"God, I… I just don't know what came over me. I felt a throbbing pain in my neck, and just… blacked out," Charizard told him.

"Don't worry about it," Lucas said, feeling the cut over his eye. "It's scabbed over now, so that's good. It means the potion is working… how are your cuts doing?"

"They're fine, thank god. Not as bad as I thought," Charizard responded. "My question is, why did that Tyrantrum not attack Greygar? I thought the drug was supposed to do that."

"He must have been given a smaller dose," Lucas replied. "That's the only thing I can think of."

"Makes sense. How long until we get to Ryme City and find this 'Looker' guy?" Charizard asked.

"We should get there within the hour. Do you still have the vile? Maybe he can swab it and give us some more information on the chemical." Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I kept it. Don't worry," Charizard said with a nod. Lucas looked over the side of the bridge at the adjacent suspended railroad tracks. A short bullet train whizzed past them, going towards Sunnyshore City's station.

Before the two of them knew it, they had reached the mainland and were traveling down the dirt road of Route 222. Ryme City's towering skyscrapers were visible through rolling hills surrounding them. A paved road ran alongside the Route, with signs directing them to the city. Lucas and Charizard crossed over to the road.

"We'll be there soon. Only a few more miles," Lucas pointed out, looking at the sign.

ʘ

Lucas and Charizard reached the city in a little over a half an hour. They gawked at the city's sheer size. Just past the adorned entrance, towering skyscrapers looked down on the streets, with billboards lining some of the buildings and neon signs adorning shop entrances.

As they walked into the security entrance, a speaker was playing a pre-recorded message of an older-sounding man. "Welcome to Ryme City, a celebration of the harmony between people and Pokémon," it said.

Over the years, Lucas had found ways to sneak past any sort of security presence. He returned Charizard to his pokéball before proceeding to the entrance. Carefully blending in, he snuck behind an officer who was facing the other way, and as he turned around, Lucas swiped behind his back. Since the security sections were divided, nobody noticed Lucas sneak into the city. After this, he released Charizard again, who immediately started gawking at the city, and for good reason.

Lucas wandered down the streets, silently marveling at the sights in front of him. People walked through the city streets, with Pokémon alongside them… some without trainers. High above his head, flying Pokémon danced above, weaving in and out of gaps between buildings.

The sun was starting to set on the horizon, casting beautiful red, orange, and pink reflections on the glass skyscrapers. Lucas pulled his hoodie down over his head and pulled out the card Sigehelm had given him.

He turned a corner, eyeing every person he walked by. Stalls were lining the streets, with Pokémon and people shopping, cooking, eating, and drinking at all of them. One stall appeared to be a barbeque, and a Charmander was holding its tail flame under a grill with burgers on it. Charizard looked at the Charmander and gave a small wave, before continuing along with Lucas.

"So, who's the guy we're supposed to be looking for?" Charizard asked.

"A private detective by the codename 'Looker,'" Lucas replied, handing Charizard the card. He took it and peered at it, before nodding and giving it back to Lucas.

"Got it… hey, Lucas, your cut healed over. Pretty nasty scar, if I may say so," Charizard said in a low tone, obviously full of remorse. Lucas looked in a nearby mirror, pulling up his hoodie slightly. Charizard was right, as the potion had healed the gash but left a rugged scar over his eye.

"Kid, you can't be here," a person said with a Boston accent. Lucas looked to the side of the mirror, now facing a street bartender. "Adults only."

"Listen, I'm not here for a drink. Can you tell me where to find this man?" Lucas said, handing the man Looker's card. The man stared at it for a second, crossing his eyes and nodding.

"You're in luck. He just came to the city a few days ago, and helped me find my missing Pokémon. He's a few blocks down in the detective's office, to the right." he replied. "Here, have a Coke. You look like you need it. It's on the stall." Lucas took a cold Coca-Cola from the bartender.

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it," Lucas responded with a smile.

"Don't mention it. Good luck," the bartender said in response. Lucas continued down the street, gulping down the soda. Immediately, he felt refreshed and energized. He handed it to Charizard, who drank the rest of it almost instantly.

"Dang, that tasted good. I think we needed that," Charizard joked. Lucas laughed and nodded his head in agreement.

Before the duo knew it, they were upon a dark building in the downtown area of Ryme City. There were fewer people here, which was perfect for them. Above the double-doored entrance was a bright neon sign that read "Ryme City Detective's Office."

Lucas walked inside after returning Charizard to his pokeball. A large hallway greeted him, with doors lining the walls. He walked down the corridor before hearing a voice behind a closed, shaded door.

"Tim, you have a new case. Not a major one, but still," one voice said.

"Man, I just finished with that Poké-napping… can't Looker deal with this one?" a second voice said.

"He can't. He's expecting someone else, but doesn't know when they'll arrive. You have to take over this one," the first voice spoke in response.

Lucas continued down the hallway, vividly remembering the newspaper article about detective Tim Goodman and the chemical outbreak. The door where he had heard the voices opened behind him, and a tall, tan man stepped outside. He was wearing a leather jacket with a white shirt and jeans, and a had a head of black hair.

"Hey," the figure simply greeted.

"Hi… do you know where I can find Looker in here?" Lucas asked, barely turning his head, but just enough so the scar over his eye was showing so he could see the figure. He never took off his hood, and didn't care to as of right now.

"Oh, um… yes. He's down at the end of the hallway to the right. Who are you?" he asked.

"Lucas Parker," Lucas responded nonchalantly. It didn't matter if this person found out who he was. After the battle that afternoon, Lucas didn't care.

"Ah, yes. I heard about you, mainly due to the broadcast. I know why you're here. Good luck, Lucas," he said, before walking out the door.

Lucas picked up the pace down the hallway, only slowing down when he reached the door to Looker's office. He tapped on the door, waiting for a response.

"Come in," a voice said. Lucas opened the door slowly. Past the door was a large room with a desk, two bookshelves, a small table with a microscope and other instruments, and a chair. Sitting in a desk chair, illuminated by a bright LED light on the ceiling, was a man similar to that on the card in Lucas' hand.

Lucas could see him in more detail now. He had the same attire on as he did in the card's picture – a tan trench coat, brick-red vest with a tie, and a head of black hair.

"Are you Looker?" Lucas asked slowly.

"Yes, I am. You must be Lucas, I presume?" Looker asked him in return.

"Yeah. How do you know me?" Lucas said.

"The broadcast, the battle in Sunnyshore City… I know who you are. I've been expecting you. I take it you met my friend Sigehelm?" Looker asked him again.

"Y-Yes. He told me to find you here in Ryme City," Lucas said.

"I knew he would. He's a good friend of mine. Let's get down to business… you're here to find your friends, if I'm correct?" Looker asked him.

"That, and something else…" Lucas said back as he pulled out his pokeball. Charizard appeared in a flash of light beside Lucas, holding a syringe in his hand. He handed it to Lucas.

"When I found out the location of Jack and Lily, the Team Rocket Grunt attacked Charizard with this… chemical. Sigehelm said it was called 'R.' It made my friend here go completely berserk, and gave me this scar on accident," Lucas stated as he removed his hoodie.

Looker took the syringe from Lucas' outstretched hand, examining it with a small eyeglass. Without a word, he stood up from the desk and walked over to the small table with a microscope. He grabbed a cotton swab and rubbed the inside of it, before putting it in a machine. The machine started to flash and display words on a screen, identifying the chemical as "R."

Looker sat back down, giving Lucas a curious stare. "I was afraid of this," he said after a minute.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked the man.

"Do you know the origins of R?" Looker asked him. Lucas shook his head. "R was created on the outskirts of this city as an attempt to merge the minds of people and Pokémon. It was supposed to be a miracle drug for things like cancer, but it turned into a disaster that caused the minds of Pokémon to go berserk. Detective Tim Goodman shut down the lab's operations after an attack on the city during a parade. It was created in a genetics lab that exploded shortly before the outbreak.

"Shortly after this, I found out about Team Rocket's breakup. However, reports of activity from the team still poured in from regions as far away as Kalos and Unova. When I found out about R being reproduced again, I feared that there were still operations here in Ryme City… and the only place that has the materials to make the chemical are in that abandoned lab," Looker finished.

"So that means Team Rocket is hiding out in that lab, producing the chemical?" Lucas said.

"Unfortunately, I think you're correct. However, the place is off-limits to the public, and therefore I cannot investigate it," Looker said, head down in disappointment.

"Wait, but you're a detective! Aren't you with the government?" Lucas asked.

"You'd be right, if it wasn't for one factor… I'm an inter-regional private detective. I'm not affiliated with the government, because each region has its own government system," Looker responded. Lucas nodded his head.

"Could you take me there? I need to stop them from producing it, because I fear that they're using it to stop me from finding my friends.

"I can take you there, but I cannot go inside. Once we get to the outer perimeter, you're on your own," Looker responded. "And here… take these," he said, handing Lucas three spray bottles. "There may be some hostile wild Pokémon in there, so spray these on yourself before you go inside. It's a potion called 'Repel,' and it prevents wild Pokémon from attempting to battle you."

"Thanks," Lucas said, putting the potions in his backpack. "When should we leave?"

"We should leave early tomorrow. Come here at about two in the morning. I know, it sounds like overkill, however there will be nobody in the area at that time. Go find a place to stay and get some rest," Looker replied.

Lucas nodded, thanked the detective again, and walked out the door. He meandered down the hallway with Charizard behind him.

"I'd say that that was a success," the dragon said.

"I agree. The only issue is that we have no place to stay tonight. I didn't see any motels or hotels around here earlier," Lucas replied as he slipped his hood back on. He walked out the door, looking around for a hiding place. Between the detective's building and the one next to it was a small alley. It was dark, since there were no streetlights anywhere around.

As Lucas and Charizard slipped into the alley, they noticed a clock on the wall of a building just past the alley. It was almost ten o'clock at night.

"I say we stay here. Sound good?" Lucas asked his friend.

"It's fine with me. It's big enough for the two of us," Charizard responded. The tail flame of Charizard was just bright enough that it illuminated the alleyway. Lucas was shocked at how clean the area was, as there was no litter or debris anywhere.

Lucas found a spot on the ground and laid down as the clock nearby chimed, signaling that ten o'clock had just arrived. Charizard laid down beside Lucas, wrapping his arm around Lucas' waist and curling his tail flame towards him. The two of them fell asleep almost instantly.

ʘ

Lucas and Charizard barely got any sleep during the night. When two o'clock came and chimed, they were both wide awake (yet tired at the same time) in anticipation. Groggily, they rose to their feet and walked to the front of the detective's building, where Looker was waiting for them by the door of a Jeep Wrangler.

Lucas returned Charizard to his pokéball with a nod, and climbed into the front seat of the Jeep. Looker got into the driver's side and put the car in drive before pulling away in silence.

"Glad you made it in time, Lucas. It'll be a bumpy ride because the road hasn't been worked on in years, so hold on when we get to that point," Looker said.

It didn't take long for them to drive past a security checkpoint and reach the outskirts of the city. After that, the road became more twisted and hillier. As the two travelers drove, Lucas noticed the trees around them were flattened, and boulders were strewn everywhere throughout the forest. Before long, they came to a clearing.

The clearing was a bridge, nestled between two hills. Above the bridge, a security camera rested on a pole. Guard rails lined the bridge, with leaves and dirt piled against them. The only source of illumination was a streetlight near the center of the road. The two drove the Jeep over the bridge slowly, and Lucas looked over the edge.

At the bottom of the bridge, approximately fifteen feet down, was a blown-out and upside-down sedan. All of its windows were smashed, and the chassis was so rusted beyond recognition that the color of the car couldn't be identified. Charred earth surrounded the vehicle, and glass shards glinted in the faint moonlight to give an eerie glow.

They continued down the road, but not for long. Before they knew it, a large wire fence gate blocked their path. Beyond this was a massive dilapidated building with tall grass surrounding it.

"This is our stop. As such, this is as far as I can take you," Looker said as he hopped out of the car.

"Sounds good. Thanks for the ride," Lucas responded.

"No problem. What will you do after this?" Looker asked him.

"I'm going to head to Celadon City in Kanto and find my friends. They need me. After that… who knows?" Lucas said. "Hopefully, I can find the new leader of Team Rocket and take them down." Lucas didn't care to disclose his family history to the detective standing in front of him. He had a job to do.

"Thanks for everything, Looker. I mean it," Lucas said to him before he entered the complex. At this, the detective returned to the Jeep and drove off, leaving Lucas alone in the dark. He turned around to face the laboratory, and found a hole in the fence nearby. After climbing through it, he reached into his backpack and pulled out one of the Repel bottles.

Charizard ejected from his pokéball after Looker left. "So, this is it? This is the lab?" Charizard asked.

"Yeah," Lucas replied. "What happens now is anyone's guess." He sprayed the bottle of Repel on himself, and Charizard started sniffing the air.

"My god, that smells awful! Jeez, can't you smell it?" Charizard cried in disgust, holding his snout away from Lucas. Lucas laughed at the scene.

"No, I can't! I guess this stuff does keep Pokémon away from you," he grinned. "Here, come back inside your pokéball. I don't know what's in there, and the last thing we need is for you to get infected by that R again."

Charizard disappeared into the ball again in a quick burst of light, slightly illuminating the field around him. Lucas started walking towards the compound.

"This is it," he said to nobody in particular. "Let's make this count for something."

Chapter 5: Biohazard

The facility was completely ruined, which was made more apparent when Lucas got closer to it. Lucas noticed a weed-ridden, overgrown concrete path leading to a set of metal front doors. The front wall of the facility was a mixture of metal and concrete, with chunks of the building missing in some portions. Broken lights dotted the exterior wall around the doors, and "Private Property" signs littered the ground and dangled off of nails.

Lucas opened the doors as quiet as possible, yet they squeaked extremely loud. He looked around slowly, but couldn't see much, because there was no moonlight in the area he was in. He noticed a flashlight sitting on the floor near his feet, the lens dusted over and scratched. He wiped it off and pressed the "On" button, and to his surprise, it turned on.

The lab's interior was much worse than the outside. Charred chairs, tables, and lab equipment lay shattered and scattered all over the place. Broken fire hydrants with caked foam around them sat in their resting cabinets, the glass around them broken as well. When Lucas looked at the floor, he noticed strange puddles of purple-black liquid on the ground.

Lucas took a step forward, and immediately his Pokédex began to sound an alarm similar to that of a NOAA radio broadcast. He took it out and looked at the screen before pressing the audio button.

"Warning! Extremely high levels of hazardous chemicals detected in air sensor," it said in a serious tone. Lucas turned up the volume to hear the announcement. "Please use caution in this area. Contaminants include: High levels of evaporated Tryptophan (liquid that causes hallucinations and drowsiness), high levels of evaporated Taurine (liquid that causes drowsiness), low levels of Carfentanil gas (incapacitating agent used for reducing pain response), and medium levels of Remifentanil gas (incapacitating agent used for sedation)."

Lucas frowned. _Great,_ he thought, _Just what I needed right now._

Looking around, he spotted gas masks and gloves nearby, mounted on a wall behind cracked and shattered glass. They appeared relatively untouched and in clean condition, so he walked over to them and unhooked them from the wall.

The gas mask was a black older model, with a single air filter jutting out of the side and two glass-covered, circular holes for the eyes. On top, it had a thick, black military helmet strapped onto the mask. The gloves beside the mask were black, rubber gloves that stretched up to his elbows. The fingers were slightly tighter than the shaft of the glove, allowing room to move.

He slipped the gloves on first, before putting on the gas mask and helmet and strapping them behind his head. His visibility was limited, but he could still see perfectly fine through the mask. When he breathed in and out, it made a deep moaning sound.

Turning the flashlight back to his surroundings, he thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned his head fully, he saw a strange Pokémon he had never seen before. It was what appeared to be a small, grey lizard. It had a grey body with a black head, and purple, crescent-shaped eyes. For its size, it had massive jaws. On its back, it had orange decorations that ran down the length of its tail. Lucas pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it at the lizard.

"Salandit, The toxic lizard Pokémon. Salandit produces highly toxic liquids on its skin, which it burns to create a toxic gas. This gas, when breathed in, causes the prey to feel tired and dizzy, allowing the Salandit to attack. Only female Salandits evolve because the males give them all of their food. A tell-tale sign of a Salandit colony is a purple-black liquid coating the area," it said. Lucas put it away and stared at them in wonder.

His eyes drifted to the puddles on the ground, which alarmed him immensely now that he knew what they were made of. He made a mental note to himself to not step in the puddles for his own safety.

When Lucas looked back to the Salandit, he noticed that three or four of them were laying there looking at him, hunger in their eyes. Obviously, they thought he was a snack, however his Repel was doing its job and keeping them away. One of the Salandits flared up the orange spots on its back into a large blaze, and a dark purple smoke filled the air.

Lucas walked away from the gas, knowing it would have no effect on him through the gas mask. He pushed open a nearby door that lead further into the facility, and more chaos filled his vision when he aimed his flashlight in the room.

Tube-like cages with glass lids lined the hallway walls, many of them cracked open or shattered. The ones that weren't shattered were opened up, and whatever Pokémon were inside of them were long gone by now. Control panels near the pods were smashed in and broken, and the same dark purple puddles covered the floor. However, there were no signs of life in the small hallway, so Lucas proceeded with caution.

A second door led into a massive, dark room. To ensure that the Salandits didn't follow him, he shut the door behind him and locked it. Then, he pulled out another Repel bottle and sprayed it on himself.

He was not prepared for what he saw when he lifted his eyes. The reflected light of the flashlight illuminated the whole room, and it blew him away. A massive hole in the ceiling opened above a giant spherical cage made of glass and metal. The sphere was blown open at the top, with burn marks radiating from the center. Around this, lab stations dotted the room, with empty syringes, shattered glass instruments, and rusted piping on them. Even more puddles covered the floor, and a pack of seven or so Salandits scurried across the room in front of him. Wires and vines dangled down from the ceiling, some coming close to the ground.

Nearby, on the floor, there was a closed trap door that led to a lower level of the facility. Purple footprints led away from the trap door to a body slouched underneath a wall of hazmat suits. The body was old, as the flesh had rotted away and it was a mere skeleton now, jaw slacked open. When Lucas took a closer look at the body, it appeared to be wearing a faded grey fedora, and the remaining clothes were shredded around it.

Lucas recognized the fedora as a signature of Team Rocket. With this proof of their presence in the compound, he walked over to the trapdoor and opened it, shining his flashlight into it. He descended into the lower levels, ready for anything to happen. In his mind, he knew that he was entering into enemy territory, but he was prepared for this moment.

ʘ

The trapdoor closed behind Lucas with a small thud, and he was thrust into darkness once again. However, his flashlight shone a small beam through the corridor that lay before him. A long hallway stretched on for about a hundred or so feet, and moldy, rusted pipes lined the walls. Around a bend in the hallway, he saw a dim light from a distant room and the voices of people.

He walked down the hallway, each step taking longer than the last in his mind. Apprehension filled his thoughts, and every part of him wanted to turn back, but he resolved that he had to push forward. He rounded the corner, and what he saw was incredible.

A large room lay before him, illuminated by two bright, industrial LED lights on the ceiling. Scattered through the room were tables, each one harboring a vast number of beakers, glasses, and microscopes. Sample dishes were neatly organized on a small desk in the corner, and in another corner were empty boxes of food. About seven people were walking through the room, talking to one another. One of them noticed Lucas in the doorway and shouted.

Everyone in the room immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at Lucas. They were all wearing Team Rocket uniforms, but some had tattered lab coats over them.

"Who are you?" one said to Lucas. Without a word, Lucas stormed over to the man and shoved him against the wall.

"You're going to tell me where I can find the man named Silver. Do you understand, goon?" Lucas asked the person.

"Okay." the man said calmly, despite Lucas holding him. Lucas put him down after noticing he had no pokéballs… none of them did, actually.

"Wait… you're just going to tell me? Not even try to battle me?" he asked, confused.

"Why should we? We have no Pokémon to battle with. My name's Leonidas. You can just call me Leo," he said. "Silver is in Kanto, by the way. I forget which town."

"How do you know?" Lucas asked him. "And why are you helping me? Who are you guys?"

"We know where he is because we ship R to him. And…well, we're helping you because we hate it here! We've been holed up in here for months now," Leo responded. "We wanted to separate from Team Rocket the moment it was originally disbanded, but Silver wouldn't let us, and sent us here instead. He threatened us, saying that if we stopped producing R, he'd have us all tipped off to the police."

"Wait… so you guys hate Team Rocket, but are a part of the team at the same time?" Lucas said. "That's… weird, but alright. Have you guys tried escaping?"

"Yeah, we did. There used to be ten of us, but now we only have seven left," Leo replied. "A team of two went up to retrieve some lost supplies from a food shipment (every month, Silver would send crates of food so we wouldn't starve), and they never came back. When we radioed them on the walkie-talkies, their last words were 'What are these puddles? They smell weird.' and then screaming. A month later, we sent up a scout to scope out the area and find hazmat suits for us to use, but… he never came back."

Lucas remembered the skeleton he found above the trapdoor, underneath the suits. Obviously, that was the scout, and he would have completed his mission if the Salandits hadn't gotten to him.

Leo continued, "Furthermore, we discovered a large colony of Salandits above us, rendering our escape impossible."

"I didn't see too many," Lucas replied.

"You got lucky. We've taken radar scans from this old equipment, and hundreds of life forms appeared on the 3-D map that was rendered. All of them were identified as Salandits, and they seem to migrate throughout the building," Leo said.

"Listen, I have one more bottle of Repel on me. If you guys agree to stop shipping R to Silver and abandon Team Rocket, I'll help you get out of here," Lucas told Leo with confidence.

"Not so fast, mask man," Leo replied. Lucas then realized that he had not taken off his gas mask and helmet, but it was too late now. "We have to deal with the queen, too. Remember that."

"The… queen?" Lucas asked, confused. "What queen?"

"Salazzle. Salazzle is the final evolution of Salandit. Only the females can evolve into a Salazzle, because they command the males to bring almost all of the food to them. They rule over the colony with an iron fist, and are incredibly dangerous. The toxins they produce are much more potent than the ones produced by Salandits," Leo explained. "They also like to… play with their food before eating it. It's rather strange, if you ask me."

Lucas didn't ask any more questions. After a minute of thought, he shouted "Alright, everyone! We're getting out of here. Gather all of your things, and let's go! Follow me, and stick as close as you can," Lucas said. The Team Rocket grunts around him gathered some spare Pokédexes and shuffled towards Lucas. Then, they each followed him down the hallway, abandoning the lab and its contents.

Lucas climbed up the ladder and opened the hatch very slowly, checking his surroundings. He didn't see any of the lizards, so he opened it all the way and beckoned the others to follow.

"Grab some gas masks over there. They'll help," Lucas said to the group. The grunts all grabbed masks off the wall, and Leo stopped at the body of his skeletal friend.

"Rest in peace, old friend. I'm sorry," he said, before grabbing a gas mask himself.

Lucas sprayed the last Repel bottle on himself, before motioning the others to follow him. Quietly, they shuffled towards the exit door, careful not to make too much noise. Lucas opened the door to the pod-lined hallway, and each person slipped through without noise.

With no sign of any Pokémon nearby, Lucas opened the next door at the end of the hallway. He shined his flashlight into the room, which was the first one he had entered, and noticed something odd standing at the center of the room.

It was a large Pokémon, about four feet tall, and it was also a lizard-like creature. However, it was standing on its hind legs, which had pink pads underneath. Wisps of pink swirls covered its torso, waist, and chest. It was grey and black, and had massive teeth on its lower jaw. Its eyes shone purple in the light of the flashlight. It also had a large tail, with grey on top and pink underneath, which stretched to its waistline.

"That's the queen! The Salazzle!" Leo whispered frantically. Lucas shushed him, before cautiously stepping forward. The Salazzle noticed Lucas and rushed to him, and Lucas immediately froze up. Before he knew it, the Pokémon was in his face, nostrils almost pressing against the gas mask he was still wearing. It made sharp clicking noises and sniffed the air. As if it had been slapped, the Salazzle jumped back and grabbed her nose in horror. Obviously, she smelt the Repel on him and was disgusted by it. Lucas walked towards it, backing it into a corner.

"Go out the door, quick! Go!" Lucas said. Once everyone was outside, Lucas rushed to the exit door and shut it behind him, hearing the screeches of the queen Pokémon behind him as it chased after him. He heard claws scratching on the door, which eventually stopped.

"We made it. We're free! Yes!" Leo said with joy. The others started cheering as well. "God, I'm never going to take trees and Pokémon for granted again! Thank you. We owe you our lives."

"Wait, before you go… can you tell me more about Team Rocket? Where are they all hiding?" Lucas asked. To this, Leo drew out a map from his pocket and handed it to Lucas. It was a map of the whole world, with every region and city on it. Red dots were spread throughout the map, with red lines between them. There was quite a bit of them, and Lucas guessed that there were at least a hundred dots in total. "What's this?" he asked, looking at it in his hand.

"That, my friend, is a map of all of Team Rocket's hideouts. You see, after Silver took over Team Rocket, the last of us spread far and wide across the world, hiding out in outposts in every region. These outposts are marked by those red dots on the map," Leo replied. "The larger the dot, the more command it has over other outposts, and the lines with arrows between them mark which one is in command over another. They can be found in deserts, forests… even cities, away from the public eye and hidden in inconspicuous buildings."

"So, this map is basically telling me where every Team Rocket hideout is located, and how dangerous each one is?" Lucas asked.

"Precisely," Leo responded.

"What about… the Celadon City Game Corner, in Kanto?" Lucas asked again.

"That's a major command center. Team Rocket keeps half of all the supplies they need in the basement, which is guarded by two Team Rocket guards dressed as security officers," Leo said. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm looking for my friends. They were taken hostage and brought to the Game Corner almost a year and a half ago," Lucas responded, now taking off the gas mask and throwing it to the side.

"You're Lucas Parker, huh? Son of Giovanni? I heard about you," Leo said. "Well, we've got to go. That's all the information I can give you. Good luck finding them, and thanks again for helping us get out of that decrepit lab!" With this, him and his team fled off.

Charizard appeared beside him. "Was it a success?" he asked.

"Yeah. They were kept here against their will by Silver, so I let them go. How are you faring?" Lucas asked the dragon.

"Pretty well. I can't smell that rotten stuff anymore, thank god," he chuckled. "Let's go. Don't we have some prisoners to free?"

"You're dang right we do. Let's go get them!" Lucas shouted.

Chapter 6: Frenemies

When Lucas managed to hike back to the train station in Ryme City's outskirts, it was well past seven in the morning. Both him and Charizard peered at the schedule, noticing a train departing to Kanto in a few minutes. They rushed to the station, and when the train pulled up, they barely managed to sneak on board past the security.

Lucas sat down in the rear car of the train, looking out the window as it accelerated a few minutes later.

"I can't believe we did it," Lucas said after a minute of silence.

"Yeah. So, what was the lab like?" Charizard asked.

"Very destroyed. You would not believe how awful it was in there," Lucas responded with a chuckle. "There were so many contaminants from the Salandits inside, I had to wear a freaking gas mask,"

"Really? Dang… I hate Salandits. They always get into places they aren't supposed to," Charizard responded, laughing. Lucas laughed with him, still looking at the trees and houses whizzing by. They both sat in silence after that, and continued to sit in silence until the train ride was over four hours later.

Lucas snuck off the bullet train in Viridian City, just like he had in Sunnyshore City.

"Man, it's great to be back in Kanto, let me tell you," Lucas said when they were clear of security.

"You're telling me," Charizard responded.

Viridian City had changed quite a bit from the last time Lucas had been there, yet he was still rather uncomfortable due to the events from past years. As he and his partner walked out of the city, Lucas glanced at the gym underneath his hood.

The Viridian City Gym was still standing as it was before, and flyers dotted the doors, advertising a tournament with the gym's leader. For a second, Lucas panicked, but he reminded himself that Giovanni was in the Sevii Islands, and nowhere near Kanto. With this, he walked up to the entrance and read the flyers.

The new gym leader was a younger trainer by the name of Blue. He had on a blue jacket and spiky, tan hair. Lucas nodded in satisfaction, before continuing to walk towards the city's exit.

Once past the still-elaborate entrance, Lucas walked down the path leading away from the city. Charizard followed suit, not saying a word, and both of them listened to the Pidgey as they flew by.

Lucas noticed a road sign at a small branch in the road, saying that Celadon City was along this route and was in fifteen miles. Nodding at Charizard, he started to follow the path.

Later, Lucas came across a small cabin in the woods. It was a little off the path, and had no walkway to the entrance. Smoke billowed out of the house's chimney, and large windows lined the front. Lucas noticed movement at the side of the house, and he saw a figure tilling in a garden.

The figure had a head of blue, spiky hair, and a worn white t-shirt underneath a jean jacket and jeans. The shirt had a massive, faded, red "R" on the front of it. His face had a big smile on it, and he appeared to be lost in thought. When he glanced up at Lucas, though, his face turned to one of shock. Almost immediately, he ran into the side door of the cabin, abandoning the tools he was using.

Lucas walked towards the house, confused beyond belief. Who were these people? Why were they so scared of him?

When he knocked on the door, it slowly opened to reveal a woman. She had long, gelled, red hair and a patched, white tank top… with the same faded "R" on it. Above this, she wore a regular jacket and had jeans on as well, but these were skinny jeans.

"H-Hello? Can we help you?" the lady asked, obviously nervous. When she spoke, Lucas instantly knew who he was speaking with. Hiking through the woods many years ago, just after he met Jack and Lily, he came across these two people in the woods, and they wanted to steal his Charizard.

It was Jessie and James, from the old Team Rocket.

"Jessie? Is that you?" Lucas asked. She nodded, now with James right behind her.

"What do you want with us, Lucas? We don't want trouble! Not anymore!" James stated defiantly.

"What happened to you guys? The last time I saw you both, Viridian Forest was almost destroyed," Lucas said. Charizard looked at them quizzically. It was hard for the dragon to look back at the same goons who had tried to steal him many times, and realize now that they were different people.

"Come in," Jessie said. Lucas walked into the house behind her, and Charizard followed. James shut the door behind the dragon. They entered the living room, and sitting in the floor was a small child, maybe two or three years old. He was playing with Meowth, who Lucas vaguely remembered alongside the duo years ago.

"Holy smokes! Is that… Lucas?" the cat said dramatically in perfect English.

"Yes, it is. Have a seat, Lucas," Jessie said. Lucas sat down in a lounge chair adjacent to a sofa.

"So, what happened? You guys have changed quite a bit," Lucas asked.

"Giovanni left, that's what happened," James responded. "This kid named Red showed up one day, and challenged him to a duel… this was only a few months after you beat him, by the way… and then left after he destroyed Team Rocket.

"Team Rocket had grown in size after your confrontation. Giovanni was outraged he had lost to his son for the second time in a row, and he ensured he would build an army against trainers like you. What was once a loose team of genetics scientists and ragged thieves, turned into a criminal empire devoted to Pokémon theft on an unimaginable scale, led by your father.

"After his defeat, Giovanni disbanded Team Rocket and fled to the Sevii Islands. Soon after, Jessie and I fell in love (we were before, but work got in the way), got married, built this cabin, and had a child here. We decided that we would change for the better, and stop stealing Pokémon. Instead, we would teach our child to become a responsible Pokémon trainer, and start a new life away from Team Rocket."

"Wow… that's incredible. The new trainer of the Viridian City Gym is a person by the name of Blue," Lucas said.

"That's quite the coincidence, but it's of no importance. The labs there are destroyed, and Giovanni's legacy has been wiped away from it," Jessie remarked. "As far as we know, Team Rocket has been lost to history."

"That's just it… they're back, and they're stronger than ever!" Lucas stated.

"What? How? Giovanni's long gone, that's impossible!" James said.

"That's exactly what I thought… but I learned that my long-lost brother, Silver, is the new leader. And he's out to get me," Lucas replied. "He kidnapped my friends, Jack and Lily, and I'm on my way to find them now,"

"We had no idea! Really?" they asked.

"Yeah. So, what will you guys do?" Lucas asked.

"We're going to stay here. It's where we belong. Besides, we have a kid and a house… what more could we ask for? Team Rocket is nothing to us anymore," they responded. Meowth nodded his head in silence. After a tense moment, Lucas spoke up.

"Well, I best be going. I hope to see you soon?" he asked.

"Definitely. Now, go get your friends, and tell them we said hi!" Jessie said. Lucas nodded, stood up, and walked out the door. He realized that Jessie and James had changed, and were no longer the ruthless duo they once were. Rather, they were very easy-going, and a pleasure to be around.

He found the path and continued down it, waving to his new mutual friends, and Charizard did the same.

"Man, do you remember when we faced them for the first time?" Charizard asked.

"Yeah… that was a lifetime ago. Remember when we just said, 'Look, we're not interested in buying whatever it is you have to offer,' or something like that? That was hilarious!" Lucas responded, laughing.

They continued to Celadon City, chuckling amongst each other with uplifted spirits.

Chapter 7: Arcade

When Lucas finally reached Celadon City, he realized with a jolt that this was the same city he was in before he left for Sinnoh. The same gym he had worked out in before stood directly beside the entrance, with the mirror now taped over.

He was initially angry that he had been near them the whole time, but when Charizard pointed out that he couldn't have done anything about it earlier, he calmed down. A passerby walked near Lucas, and made eye contact with him underneath the hood.

"Hey, do you know where the Celadon City Game Corner is?" Lucas asked the woman.

"Yeah, I just came from there. It's a block past this gym here to the right, with a neon sign. You shouldn't miss it," she said.

"Thanks," Lucas responded. Turning to Charizard, he nodded and ran down the mostly-empty street, the dragon in tow with a swaying run. He passed the gym he was in earlier, not bothering to look at any of the shops before he rounded the corner.

When he rounded the corner, what he saw amazed him. A giant building, flashing with neon signs, stood in front of him. People were walking in and out of the place, and Lucas read signs that identified it as "CCGC." He could only assume that these stood for "Celadon City Game Corner," but it was beyond him.

Charizard stuck closer to Lucas than normal, obviously nervous. Lucas walked into the casino, and although there was security, they didn't do anything to stop him from entering. The inside of the casino was incredible, and even Charizard stopped to take in the view.

Slot machines, Billiard tables, card tables, and other gambling items were dotting the inside of the large building, and people swarmed around them in laughter. The ringing sounds of slot machines filled his ears, and he had to force himself to drown out the noises and focus.

In one of the back corners, behind the prize corner's desk, was a metal door with large bolts on it. Two security guards stood watch on each side of the door, wearing reflecting sunglasses and suits. Each suit was embroidered with the casino's logo, and underneath that, a small red "R." Lucas knew what that meant: that door was the entrance to the basement.

"What are you doing? They're not going to let you in!" Charizard hissed quietly so as not to be heard.

"Don't you remember, bud? I stole Greygar's Team Rocket ID. Remember what the scientists said to us? They said that they'll let you in as long as you have the ID, but your appearance doesn't matter," Lucas explained.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. So, what's the plan for when we get inside?" the dragon asked.

"Well, once we find our friends, we're going to raid the place. Cripple their supply train, you know what I mean?" Lucas responded. Charizard nodded his head, wickedly giggling in excitement. "However, until I find them, you have to remain in your pokéball, do you understand?"

"Yeah. I got it," he replied. Lucas returned him to the ball and clipped it to his waist sash beside the others. Once he made it to the door, the two guards approached him.

"Hold up, son. I don't think you can come in here," one of the burly-looking guards said. Without saying a word or lifting his hoodie up from his eyes, he handed them his Team Rocket ID. They took it from him, shrugged, and opened the door after returning the card. Lucas stepped through the door and walked down a red-carpeted stairway.

When he reached the bottom, he was shocked to see a massive arcade. Game consoles were spread among the walls, with TVs above them. Arcade games were lined up neatly beneath, and pool tables were arranged near the center of the room. On the back wall, a prize corner was stocked with assorted stolen pokéballs, with a Team Rocket grunt smiling underneath. Members of Team Rocket roamed around the arcade, playing games, gambling, and laughing.

As Lucas walked through the arcade, he walked by two grunts having a hushed conversation. When he listened closer, he felt his heart drop when he heard what they were saying.

"… hear about the lab? All the way up northeast in, I think it was… Sinnoh? Yeah, Sinnoh. Anyway, that old genetics lab that Silver forced those scientists into? They managed to escape. Apparently, this kid showed up at the lab and helped the team to get out alive, and now all shipments of R have stopped," one said.

The other one replied, "Dude, really? The boss is going to be pissed if that's true. That abandoned lab was our last bet on reproducing R!"

Lucas didn't want to hear more (or know how they found out), so he walked away towards the back door, which had another guard. For a second, Lucas thought that this was Silver's office. His nerves racking him, he handed the ID to the guard, who cleared him and let him into the room.

When he opened the door, he didn't come face-to-face with the new leader of Team Rocket, but he came into contact with yet another metal door. The one behind him shut, and a light came on above him. He opened the last door, and was greeted with the sight of a lavish room with bookshelves, two beds, two desks, and a large tray of food.

Lucas' eyes widened as he saw Jack and Lily in the room. They were sitting on their beds, reading books on Pokémon.

"Jack? Lily? Is…is it really you guys?" Lucas stuttered, taking off his hood. The two friends looked up at him, before widening their eyes and jumping out of their beds.

"Lucas? Lucas!" Lily shouted. "God, I thought we'd never see you again!" Jack and Lily threw their arms around Lucas, smothering him.

"Wha…how…how did you find us?" Jack asked through joyous laughter.

"Oh, it's a long story. I've been looking for you guys for ages!" Lucas said. "First, how did you guys even get here? What happened?"

"Well," Lily started, "when you went off on your mission with Charizard and the others, not long after that Team Rocket showed up and attacked. We had nothing to defend ourselves with, so this one guy came up and put sacks over our heads so we couldn't see. Then, he led us to a car and brought us here."

"We've been here for a year and a half, but to be honest, it's not that bad," Jack cut in. "They treat us like royalty, giving us three big meals a day and allowing us to do anything we want in the arcade. However, we haven't been let outside in a few months. I miss the fresh air. Anyways… how did you find us? This place is pretty secure."

Lucas thought for a moment, recalling every detail from memory. "It's been a long journey… after you guys disappeared, I started wandering from town to town, staying in hotels and sneaking past security forces," he started. "I started taking out my anger on gym equipment, lifting weights and training with my Pokémon.

"Eventually, this broadcast came on, and apparently every device in every region was affected by it. I don't know if you guys saw it, but it summoned me to the northeast…Sinnoh. I battled in the Sinnoh tournament and won, and then got the information from this grunt named Greygar. Then, he infected Charizard with this drug called "R," which made him super enraged and which gave me this scar.

"So, I sidetracked a bit and found a detective in a place called Rhyme City. Then, I found the abandoned lab where they produced R, shut down the remaining operations and liberated the captives there. Apparently, they were forced by Team Rocket to produce the agent.

"Finally, I made my way over to this city, before sneaking into this place and finding you. I'll tell you this, you don't know how happy I am to see you guys again!"

"Us too! They never told us what we were down there for, or where we are in the first place," Jack replied.

"Well, I can answer both of those. First, Silver is the new leader of Team Rocket. Remember him, my brother? Yeah… that's him. Apparently, Silver instructed that goon I told you about, Greygar, to capture you and take you here to prevent me from defeating Team Rocket. And second, you're in the basement of Celadon City's Game Corner," Lucas explained.

"Wait, so… how do we get out of here? There's got to be some way..." Lily asked in thought.

"We storm the place. This map was given to me by the ex-members of Team Rocket in the genetics lab, and it details every outpost in every region under their control," Lucas said as he pulled out the map and showed it to them. "This Game Corner is a major Team Rocket command post, and many of their supplies are kept here. If we cause a collapse, then we can drastically cripple Team Rocket's operations."

"So how will we pull it off? There are grunts everywhere!" Lily said.

"I know, I know… come on out, Charzy!" Lucas said as he threw the pokéball. It popped open and Charizard appeared in front of the group. Jack and Lily smiled at him, and Charizard immediately gave them a large hug.

"Don't you guys ever disappear like that again!" Charizard cried. Lucas laughed for a moment at the scene: A giant dragon hugging two teenagers. Now he knew what it looked like from their perspective.

"Okay, Charizard… how are we going to bring this place down?" Lucas asked. Jack and Lily listened in as Charizard growled at Lucas, and Lucas nodded in response.

"What did he say, Lucas?" Jack asked after a minute.

"Charizard thinks that we should lead a full-on assault, so here's the plan…" Lucas replied. "I'm going to deploy all of my Pokémon except Lugia, because he's too big for this area. However, that also means Mew is going to come out, and I'm pretty sure he already knows what's about to happen through his ball. From there, I'm going to exit this cell and lead an assault, and my main target will be the supplies."

"Okay, well, what about us?" Jack implied.

"Do you still have Bagon?" Lucas asked.

"Well, good news: he evolved into Shelgon! Team Rocket allowed me to train him in a back room," Jack exclaimed.

"Wait… Shelgon? What's that?" Lucas asked. Jack showed him his Pokédex entry for Shelgon. It depicted a round Pokémon with a white shell encompassing its body. It had four stubby legs coming out of the shell, and a hole in the front for two eyes for it to see. The eyes were a piercing yellow color, and looked angry. The inner thighs of the creature's legs were a dark, blood red.

"His shell is tougher than steel, but it's super heavy and makes him slow. However, he's pretty powerful," Jack explained. Lily nodded behind him.

"Okay, well, I want you two to stay on each side of me. That way, we can avoid another capture," Lucas replied. They both nodded their heads. "Alright, everyone… let's party!" Lucas shouted as he threw out all of his pokéballs, except for Lugia's Premier Ball and Lapras (because there was no water). They all popped open, displaying three more of Lucas' Pokémon. Dragonite, Flygon, Mew, and Charizard all lined up in front of him.

"Are you all ready? We're going to storm this building and destroy Team Rocket's supplies," Lucas said. All the Pokémon nodded their heads and readied themselves.

Lucas opened the large metal door to the room. He turned back to face the group, and all of them gave a nod to say that they were ready.

With an evil smile, Lucas put his hood back over his head and kicked open the second door to the massive arcade, causing the adjacent guard to recoil in shock and giving Lucas' team room to attack.

"Let's bring them to their knees! Everyone… charge!" he cried, raising his fist as his Pokémon stormed past him.

Chapter 8: Don't Mess with Us

Lucas' Pokémon stormed around him, charging into the giant arcade and wrecking anything in their path. Slowly, Lucas started to walk forward towards a vault entrance marked "Supplies," with his hood over his head to cover his scar and his friends by his side once more.

Charizard darted past him, swinging his flaming tail towards two grunts and knocking their pokéballs out of their hands. He roared and proceeded to shoot a burst of fire at another three goons running towards Lucas.

All around Lucas was chaos: Dragonite shot lightning out of his antennae for a Thunderbolt attack, which short-circuited all of the arcade games and sent sparks flying; Flygon was directing pulses of painfully powerful vibrations at the various goons now storming the place, shattering glass everywhere; and Mew was using his psychic abilities to throw items around and wreck the place, not caring who or what he hit as long as he didn't hit Lucas and the others.

Lucas finally reached the giant vault door, which was sealed shut and obviously very thick. He realized that there was no way to get past it without other means.

"Hey, Mew! Could you help me get this open really quick?" Lucas shouted over the noise. Mew darted over to Lucas and waited for instructions. "Okay, Mew, here's how we'll do this. Do you remember the Viridian Forest? Your Psyshock attack?" he asked. Mew nodded, crossing his eyes. "Can you do that, but on a smaller scale? All of their supplies are in there, and once we get it open, we'll go ham on everything."

Mew's eyes went completely white and started to dimly glow. Before long, a small orb of pure energy floated in front of his chest and began to ripple with instability. Mew then proceeded to throw the energy ball at the door after Lucas and the others stepped back a bit, and it hit the vault door with such force that the door exploded.

Shards of metal flew in all directions, but Mew created a shield for himself and the others behind him. The remains of the door flew backwards into a giant room, landing on the ground and smoldering. Alarms started sounding inside the vault, but Lucas didn't care.

"Thanks, Mew! That was epic!" Lucas shouted. Again, Mew nodded his head with a smile, before darting inside and waiting. Lucas, Jack, and Lily stepped over the twisted metal and burnt supports before coming face-to-face with a large quantity of wooden shipping crates.

"Alright, everyone! In here!" Lucas ordered quickly. Charizard, Flygon, and Dragonite darted into the vault room and stood in front of Lucas.

"You guys ready?" Lucas asked with a wicked grin. All of his Pokémon smiled in excitement, and Flygon started to flap his wings faster and faster.

"Okay… have at it! Destroy everything!" Lucas shouted. His Pokémon started to smash, burn, shock, and throw crates all around him. "Leave nothing behind! Cripple them!"

Charizard jumped into the air, before smashing a crate of pokéballs with his foot and sending them flying everywhere. Many of them broke because of the force of the impact, and they were later joined by shattered Pokédexes, thanks to Flygon and Dragonite teaming up.

Lucas heard a metallic groaning to his side, and when he looked over, he saw Mew telepathically lifting a large, metal shipping crate. The groaning was the metal itself straining under the pressure from Mew's power. The shipping crate was thrown against the wall with blinding speed, creating a massive crevasse in the concrete wall. The crate shattered open, spilling lab supplies everywhere. Bunsen burners, beakers, tongs, glasses, and microscopes flew everywhere, shattering against the floor and walls.

Lucas turned back around to exit the vault and leave his Pokémon to have fun without him. However, instead he saw a semi-familiar face that he wished he'd never see again.

Greygar stood on the other side of the room, glaring at Lucas with an evil smile just like he had when he infected Charizard. Charizard turned to face him after Lucas, and started growling when he recognized Greygar.

"Did you and your precious Charizard have fun with my gift?" the goon shouted through the blaring alarms. Lucas lifted his hood to stare down the person responsible for the scar across his eye. When Greygar saw the healed wound, he laughed before speaking again, saying, "Ha! It looks like you did have a bit of fun… did you honestly think I would willingly give you the location of your friends without a confrontation? So what do you want, a rematch?"

"Bold of you to assume I wanted a rematch, Greygar," Lucas replied, anger now fueling him. Mew, Dragonite, and Flygon all stopped the carnage in the vault and stopped to observe what was happening. Lucas started speed-walking towards the grunt, who didn't move a muscle.

"I thought I said I never wanted to see your face again!" Lucas shouted. When he reached the goon, he threw a direct punch to his cheek. The blow landed on Greygar's cheek and spun him around his heels, and all of Lucas' Pokémon gasped.

After about a half a minute, Lucas glared down at Greygar, who had collapsed to his knees, and spoke again. "That was for my friends, my eye, and for what you did to Charizard," he said, before walking away.

All of the remaining goons inside of the basement were fleeing for the surface, and Lucas nodded in satisfaction before looking on the ground near him. A pokéball sat near Lucas' feet, and Lucas bent down to pick it up. Pressing the button, a Pokémon was ejected and flew into the room. It was truly a strange creature, with a red-and-blue striped torso, thin blue ovoids for arms and a tail, and yellow eyes with black circles inside of them. It had a small red point on its head, and its whole body was twitching in strange ways. It had a blue, shiny beak for a mouth, but no opening on it. Lucas took out his Pokédex and aimed it at the Pokémon.

"Porygon-Z, the virtual Pokémon," it read. "Porygon-Z is a man-made Pokémon with no gender, and was updated from its pre-evolution, Porygon2, in order to pursue travel into alien dimensions. However, a faulty update was applied, causing sporadic movements and twitches. It has the ability to travel into computer systems and act as a virus, dismantling code and destroying servers."

The Porygon-Z seemed very afraid of Lucas, and when Lucas tried to approach it, it floated backwards with a scared look in its eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lucas asked the creature. It started to look around sporadically, twitching as it moved its head. "They captured you, didn't they? Well, you don't have to be afraid of them anymore," Lucas said reassuringly.

The Porygon-Z slowly approached Lucas, still apprehensive. Jack and Lily stepped back so as not to scare it.

"Do you want to come with me? I'll take care of you," Lucas asked. The Pokémon nodded its head once it was more comfortable around the trio, but it was still nervous around Lucas' other Pokémon. "You don't have to worry about these guys, either… they're all my friends! We're a family, you know?" Lucas told the Pokémon. However, this appeared to make it sad, and Lucas knew why.

"They didn't capture you, did they? They stole you…" he realized. It nodded its head solemnly. "Well, Porygon-Z, that won't happen again. I'll make sure of it."

Suddenly, its spirits lifted and it flew around Lucas, Jack, and Lily, making high-pitched computerized beeps. Lucas laughed and gave the Pokémon a pat on the head. The surface of the creature was smooth and metallic, and he felt a static charge in the air just above the "skin."

In the distance, Lucas heard shouting. He realized that it was coming from outside.

"Okay, bud, if you're going to come with us, I need to give you a nickname. Porygon-Z is kind of a mouthful! How about… PZ? Does that sound good?" Lucas asked. The Pokémon nodded its head happily. "Awesome! However, we have to go. People are outside, and it's only a matter of time before those guys show up again. Are you ready?" he stated. Again, it nodded its head, and Lucas picked up the pokéball and returned the PZ to it. Lucas' hand felt statically charged and fuzzy, causing his hair to stand on end. He clipped the ball to his belt.

"Alright, you guys! Let's get out of here! Dragonite, Flygon, Mew… return! Charizard, you too! We've got company!" Lucas shouted to the others. However, it was too late. A woman with blue hair practically jumped down the stairs, landing in front of the entrance.

"Police! Get your hands where I can see them!" she said. "Jeez, this place is a wreck! You three and all of your Pokémon are under arrest for destruction of private property, assault, and possession of a seventh or more pokéball!"

"Wait… you can't have over six?" Lucas asked.

"No! As a trainer, it is illegal to possess more than six pokéballs. Any more, and they get sent to your region's professor for safekeeping. However, if you fail to send them over, it is a felony!" she shouted.

"Well, too bad! I just rescued my friends here from Team Rocket, and I'm not letting you get in the way!" Lucas shouted. "Now, get out of our way! We're leaving!"

"Never! Come on out, Growlithe!" she said, throwing a Great Ball out in front of her. A small orange and black-striped dog with a thick white mane, tail, and forelock appeared, growling at Lucas. Flames started to ripple out of its mouth as it snarled at the group.

"Oh, you want to battle? Let's battle! Charzy, have at him and use a Quick Attack!" Lucas shouted. He knew it was overkill to use Charizard against a small Growlithe, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Charizard flew at the fire dog with blinding speed. He then slapped the dog as hard as he could, sending it flying across the room and landing on its side. However, it got back up and snarled at the dragon again.

This was Lucas' chance to escape with the others. The police officer attempted to tase Charizard, but he simply grabbed the taser and crushed it between his three claws. Lucas rushed past him and slammed his body into the woman, knocking her down. The Growlithe's Great Ball was accidently activated, returning it to the ball. Jack, Lily, and Charizard rushed up the stairs while Lucas followed soon after.

"Get back here! Hey!" she shouted. He ignored her and continued to run. He ran up the stairs, through the Game Corner, out the door, and into the city. Once he caught up to the others, they ran out of Celadon City and into the dense forest.

They stopped after a solid ten minutes, not daring to go back towards the main path. Once they were sure they had escaped, Lucas chuckled and said, "See? I told you I got pretty good at sneaking past security."

"Oh, really? Sneaking? Are you sure about that last part?" Jack laughed in response.

"Pretty sure," Lucas responded. "God, I'm so happy to have you guys back. I missed you guys so much!"

"We did too! And let me tell you… the sky is the most beautiful thing right now," Lily said. The trio laughed amongst themselves, with Charizard joining in soon after.

Lucas looked at the sun, noticing it was very low in the sky, and getting lower by the minute.

"Come on, guys. Lets' go get some sleep. I think we all need it, right?" Lucas asked. Everyone nodded their support.

As the sun finally set at the horizon, the three reunited friends fell asleep. Charizard wrapped his arm around Lucas, now able to rest in peace. Lucas fell asleep shortly after the others, now content that he was with his new family again.

Chapter 9: Ghost

_Lucas woke up to a blank landscape. There was no grass, no trees, and no life around him whatsoever. Standing up and looking around, he saw that he was in a white room that seemed to stretch on forever, and even though there were no lights anywhere, he could see clearly._

"Hello?_" he shouted. Nobody answered him, and he realized he was alone._

What is this place?_ he thought to himself. Confused, he checked his sash for his pokéballs. None of them were there, and his backpack wasn't near him either. He started to panic when he heard another voice._

"Hey, Lucas,_" it said. Lucas whipped around, looking for the mysterious voice. He didn't see anyone nearby, which only fueled his confusion. For a moment, he thought he was hearing voices in his head._

"It's me, Lucas. Don't you remember me?_" it spoke again._

"Where are you?_" Lucas shouted. A strange mist started to form in front of Lucas. Slowly, the mist formed particles in the air, which came together to form a person. This person looked vaguely familiar to Lucas, but he couldn't quite put his finger on who he was. He had a short-sleeved shirt with jeans, a blonde barber's cut, blue eyes, and sneakers._

_More mist poured into the room, eventually forming another being beside the person in front of Lucas. This new form was an orange dragon – a Charizard. The Pokémon looked at Lucas, but did not speak. When it turned to face the human, it started growling at him._

"Yep. This is the person I told you about,_" the figure responded. Lucas was taken aback – this person also had a Charizard, and could speak to him as well!_

"Who are you? What's going on?_" Lucas asked._

"Don't you remember the person you met all those years ago, after the storm in the forest?_" he said. Lucas thought long and hard, trying to piece the puzzles together. Eventually, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, he stared at the picture he had been given years ago – a person, split down the middle, with each side of the line a different setting and different person. Both figures had Charizards walking beside them._

"You're him… aren't you,_" Lucas said. It was more of a statement, rather than a question. The figure nodded in confirmation._

"What does this mean? What's your name?_" Lucas asked, pointing to the picture._

"I told you, Lucas. You know who I am,_" he replied._

"No, no. I'm not playing this game again. Who are you, and why did you come to me? Are you a ghost? A figment of my imagination? Just tell me,_" Lucas prodded. The boy sighed heavily. Lucas waited for an answer, intently staring at the boy. After a minute, he finally responded with an answer that Lucas never expected._

"I'm you, Lucas,_" he said. After noticing Lucas' look of disbelief, he continued to explain. "_You and I are the same person, don't you see? That's me in the picture, with you on the other side! Even our best friends are the same!"

"H-how… how is that possible? You're a ghost, a dream. You're not real!_" Lucas exclaimed._

"Well, if I'm not real, then how are you able to hold that picture every day?_" he asked with a chuckle. Lucas stuttered, trying to find words that weren't there. "_You know my name. My name is Lucas. But not the Lucas you see in the mirror, no,_" he said._

_After a pause, Lucas asked the boy, "_Why do you exist?_"_

_The other Lucas looked at the real one, and his face suddenly switched to how it was the day they first saw each other: sadness in his blue eyes, intently staring at the real Lucas._

"I exist to guide you, Lucas Parker. Let me explain,_" he said. "_You are the perfect version of me. To be honest, you're everything I wish I was in life: Smart, happy, determined, and witty. I'm none of those… but you are.

"Many years ago, I got lost in the woods and was rescued by a Charizard, just like you were. We could speak to each other, and agreed to go on an adventure together,_" he continued, looking at the dragon beside him and patting him on the shoulder. "_However, I was found by my parents and the police, and was taken away soon after. We never found each other again after that, and each day I hoped I'd see him again.

"During the span of twelve years, I searched for my friend here. Eventually, during that time, I gave up searching and gave into my hopelessness. For the rest of that twelve-year period, I wandered the Earth, trying to find my purpose in life. Eventually, three years ago, I found you, Lucas. You were stranded in the woods, just like I was, and so I sent Charizard to you. He never knew why he wanted to save you… he just did. But I'm the one who told him to, in his head. I knew that you needed each other._"_

"You were everything I wanted to be, so I made it my mission to help you. I knew that if I helped you to follow your destiny, I could find my best friend, and finally be happy again. And so I did just that.

"Do you think it was pure coincidence that you found that Flygon stranded in the desert? Or the bunker in that town, out of the corner of your eye? I guarantee you would have never found them if it weren't for me, because I helped you find them. And did you honestly think you would survive that tornado without help? I thought not. I was there to give you the extra push you needed when you jumped across those boulders in the sky. Arceus, the god of all Pokémon, may have created you… but I created who you are, your personality." _he finished._

_Lucas looked at him in shock, not knowing how to react. All this time, all these years… this one boy had been shaping who he was and is today. Because of him, Charizard and him are still best friends. Now he understood why he thought he knew the boy from somewhere._

"I had no idea… so it was you this whole time?_" Lucas asked._

"Yes, it was... mostly. I didn't control everything, to be honest. Only when I felt you needed my help,_" the other Lucas replied. "_I just wanted to come to you in a dream tonight to say thank you. Because of you, I found my friend here after all this time. You never gave up in trying to find your destiny, and you succeeded. And because you succeeded, I completed my mission and found Charizard._"_

"So… what now? What will you do, now that I know who you are?_" Lucas asked again._

"Your destiny is now your own, Lucas. I can no longer intervene, but I'll still be there. Don't you forget that, okay?_" he said. Lucas nodded in understanding. He knew that the boy was right – whatever happened now was up to him._

"Will I see you again?_" Lucas pressed him._

"Just look in a mirror, Lucas. We're ghosts of each other. When you see yourself, you see me as well,_" he replied. Lucas smiled at that thought._

"Can I ask one more question?_" Lucas said. "_Who was Charizard's trainer? He said that his trainer abandoned him. Is that true?_"_

"Well, yes and no. He thought his trainer abandoned him, but that's not the case… I was his trainer, in a sense. When I found him in his cave as a Charmeleon, I could feel a special energy radiating off of him. So, even though I couldn't understand him (which distinguished my Charizard from yours), I took him in and trained him.

"Eventually, a week before your house burnt down, I had a vision of myself crawling through the forest in the snow. I knew it was you, Lucas, because that would never happen to me since I don't have a physical home. So, I told Charizard to stay where he was, and gave him one final message in the forest: 'I'll be back.' Personally, I don't think I was lying. He doesn't remember me because I didn't let him. I wiped his memory of what I looked like and who I was, instead replacing it with that of another random trainer. And then he found you… and you know the rest,_" he finished. Lucas smiled and nodded, content with knowing that him and Charizard had a purpose together._

_After a moment of silence, Lucas spoke. "_So, this is it, isn't it? It's time to wake up?_"_

"Yes, it is. Remember… I'll always be there,_" he said. Lucas closed his eyes and waited for his reality to shift again. The white world around him started to fade away, the other version of him and Charizard faded to mist, and a breeze started to blow across his body._

"Wake up._"_

Chapter 10: The First Collapse

Silver sat in a large reclining chair, although he was not reclining in it. In front of him was a desk with papers strewn all over it, some of them maps of different regions. He was reading a book in the dim light of a desk lamp, which also faintly illuminated the small, dark room he was in.

He was blinded a moment later when the double doors leading into the room flew open, bright light now shining into the room. Silver covered his eyes and let them adjust before looking up again.

A Team Rocket goon stood in the door and said, "Hey, boss? I have some bad news, but it's urgent."

"Great… go ahead," Silver replied sarcastically.

"Do you remember those old genetics scientists from the lab in Ryme City?" the goon asked.

"Yeah, what about them?" Silver prodded.

"Well… they escaped. They managed to make it out of the lab alive, and all shipments of R have stopped. Rumor has it that some kid helped them get out," the grunt explained. "Furthermore, the Celadon City Game Corner hideout has been destroyed. The two prisoners, Jack and Lily, have escaped with Lucas."

"WHAT?!" Silver screamed.

"My thoughts exactly, boss. He had Greygar's ID, and snuck into the basement with it. After that, he freed his friends and destroyed the place, before escaping our enforcements. No civilians in the above casino were hurt, nor did they know anything was even going on because of how loud it was upstairs," he said.

After a moment of composing his rising anger, Silver hissed, "Surely, they didn't get to our supplies? Tell me that the vault door stopped them from getting in."

The grunt bowed his head and shook it solemnly, before saying, "No, it didn't. They got inside the vault, Silver… and everything in there is destroyed. All the pokéballs, Pokédexes, potions… gone. He used all of his Pokémon to destroy the place."

Silver stood up from his chair and slammed his fist down on the desk. "NO! THAT WAS HALF OF OUR SUPPLIES, AND A MAJOR CONTROL CENTER!" he screamed.

There was a television in the room, and when he turned it on, it projected an image of a map. This map had every Team Rocket hideout on it with red dots, and arrows to mark controlling outposts. However, dozens of the outpost markers surrounding Celadon City were now gray.

"No, no, no!" he yelled.

"What do those gray dots mean?" the grunt asked.

"It means that those outposts have lost control and assumed the worst! With no command center, each complex was given an automated code red signal and was abandoned!" Silver yelled. The vein in his temple was popping and he was red in the face, barely able to keep his composure. When he finally settled down a bit, he asked, "Were they able to salvage anything at all?"

"No," another voice said in the door. It was Greygar, and he had a massive bandage on his cheek with spots of blood on it. "We couldn't salvage anything. Any electrical object that would have survived was destroyed by your little brother's Dragonite."

Silver remained silent for a few more minutes, with Greygar and the other grunt standing near him.

"So, what happened to you?" the first goon asked Greygar.

"The little brat punched me in the face. I guess I ticked him off more than I should have," Greygar responded.

"Did you at least try to stop him?" Silver asked through clenched teeth.

"Well, I was going to battle him, but then he just walked over and popped me on the cheek," Greygar responded. "In his defense, I understand his anger towards me. After all, I did give his Pokémon a decent dose of R, captured his friends, and gave him a scar across the eye."

"That's no excuse! Next time, I don't want him to escape," Silver yelled.

"Yes sir, Silver. Sorry," Greygar responded. Silver nodded his head, and looked back at the map. He stood up from his chair and walked over to the TV screen, before resting his finger on an isolated grey dot in the Kanto-Johto desert.

"This hideout here… I believe it used to belong to the original members of Team Rocket under my father. What were their names?" Silver asked.

"Jessie and James. They were a highly skilled theft and recovery team, but retired and moved when Giovanni left for the Sevii Islands," Greygar replied.

"Right. Thank you," Silver responded. "Is there anything left in that base? I know that it used to be a storage center for Giovanni… one of many, actually."

"No," the other grunt said. "I sent a small squad out there a few weeks ago to find the base in that old village, but the town was more destroyed than it was before and the bunker was raided."

Silver went red in the face again. "Was it Lucas again?" he asked, barely keeping his cool.

"Well, yes, but not recently. We took old DNA samples of his hair in the bunker, and they matched Lucas' DNA," the grunt replied. "However, the samples were old… almost three years old, to be exact."

Again, Silver nodded his head. "What are we going to do now? The Game Corner has fallen, and we lost half of our supplies. If we don't act fast, Lucas could strike again and cripple us. Where is our other supply cache on this map?"

"Our other cache is also here in Kanto. However, it's hidden in an old fort that was abandoned around the Dark Ages. Nobody ventures out that way, and barely anyone knows of its existence," Greygar said, pointing to a large red dot on the map. It wasn't as large as the now-grey dot in Celadon City, but it was close enough to be distinguished as a major outpost.

"Move the supplies to my base on Mt. Moon," Silver ordered. "Make sure nobody gets into the base without an ID, face check, and a Team Rocket background check. I don't want a repeat of this!"

"Yes sir!" the grunt and Greygar said in unison.

"Also, send out a squad to hunt down Lucas and his friends. The sooner we get him off of our tails, the better. Find him and take him out!" Silver yelled. Greygar and the grunt rushed out of the room.

"Rocket Search Squad, prepare to move out!" Greygar yelled into a walkie-talkie as he ran.

Silver leaned back in his chair, frowning and looking at the screen. "Not this time, Lucas. I won't make the same mistake Giovanni did."

Chapter 11: Hunted

Lucas woke up with a jolt and his eyes flew open. He was breathing very hard and quick, and his heart felt like it was jumping around his chest. Looking around, he realized that he was awake, the strange dream had ended, and he had indeed woken up.

Charizard was laying on his back, his tail still swung around Lucas and his flame burning bright. The morning sun shone through the trees and the mist, creating beautiful rays that shone on the dragon and the rest of the group.

Jack and Lily were each sleeping in the soft forest grass, smiles on their faces. Lucas looked at them for a moment with a grin, before turning his attention to the view in front of him.

Somehow, the picture that the boy – himself – had given him was laying a few feet away, unfolded and facing him. Lucas stared at it in bewilderment, not knowing how it got there considering he never took it out of his pocket. He wearily stood up with shaky legs, and walked over to the piece of paper. When he picked it up and held it up to the sun, he saw writing on the back of the page.

He turned the paper over in his hand, and on the back was one simple sentence: "I'm still here." Lucas smiled at the scribbled handwriting, even though it definitely wasn't his, and folded up the picture. After he put it in his pocket, he turned around to face the others again.

Charizard was sitting up, now looking at Lucas with a quizzical look on his snout. Lucas smiled in response, and the dragon chuckled and shook his head before thrusting himself onto his feet.

"Did I wake you up?" Charizard asked.

"Nah, I had a weird dream is all. You're fine," Lucas replied, turning his gaze to Jack and Lily, who were still asleep.

"What was it about?" the dragon questioned. Lucas remained silent for a minute, not sure how to answer. He opened his mouth and shut it again.

Lucas knew that him revealing what the boy had said about Charizard could have drastic consequences. The last thing he needed was for Charizard to be emotionally devastated by the fact that many months of his life were spent with an imposter of Lucas.

Eventually, Lucas told him, "You know, I can't really explain it. It was just a very bizarre dream." Silence followed that statement, and eventually the dragon's face took on a very serious expression.

"So, what now, Lucas?" Charizard asked. "Team Rocket is surely after us, and so are the police, judging by the way you knocked over that officer and trashed a vault."

"That's a good question… I don't know. I mean, we've made it this far, and now I'm at a block. We could go after Silver," Lucas suggested.

"I don't know about that. I understand getting to the head of your problems is a good thing, but not in this case," Charizard replied. Lucas nodded his head, knowing that his partner was right. "Perhaps we keep on moving? Maybe go back to the desert like we did before we fought your father?"

"Maybe… but that base is gone. There's nothing there for us, and Team Rocket will probably search there," Lucas said. Then, a manic grin spread across his face. "I know where we could go… how about back to Celadon City?"

"What?! Are you crazy? We just barely got out of there!" Charizard exclaimed.

"Think about it, Charzy! If we ran out of the city and hid, then the last place anyone would think to find us is… well… back in the city! We'll go tonight, so it's easier for us to sneak back through security," Lucas explained. Charizard thought for a moment, realizing Lucas' plan was far easier than any other option.

"Alright," the dragon said. "We'll go back tonight. This better work, pal… not just because I don't want to get captured, but because I don't want to lose you. You got that?"

Lucas smiled and laughed, before replying, "That won't happen. I promise."

Jack and Lily sat up slowly, yawning. Lucas looked at them happily, and Charizard did the same.

"Man, it feels so good to be out of there!" Lily said, stretching her arms.

"Yeah, I'll take soft grass over a hard bed any day of the week," Jack replied, standing up and looking around.

"Don't get too comfortable, guys," Lucas said with a chuckle, "We're going back to the city tonight. Since we escaped, it'll be the last place anyone will search for us." Surprisingly, Jack and Lily didn't seem to mind this idea. They only nodded their heads, and Jack said, "Okay. That's a pretty good idea, actually."

"We're probably being hunted by both the police and Team Rocket, so we need a plan once we get there. Of course, we can't stay there too long…somebody is bound to recognize us after a while," Lucas told the group.

Without a word, Lucas started gathering his things. "It's best we get moving. We don't have much time before they start searching the forest… if they haven't already," he said. Jack and Lily started gathering their things and stuffing them into their backpacks.

One of Lucas' pokéballs began to vibrate extremely hard, and when Lucas plucked it off his sash, he realized it was Lugia's Premier Ball.

"Is he okay?" Charizard asked, obviously concerned.

"I…I don't know. He only does that when there's something making him nervous," Lucas responded. He looked around the misty forest, but nothing out of the ordinary struck his eye. He didn't hear anything, either.

Mew's pokéball started to vibrate as well, as he could probably sense Lugia's nervousness through their shared psychic powers. However, instead of continuing to shake, Mews' ball burst open and revealed the mythical Pokémon in a bright flash.

Mew started looking around frantically as he floated above the ground, his blue eyes wild with apparent fear.

"Mew, what's wrong?" Lucas asked. When the Pokémon didn't acknowledge him, he asked again. "Hey! Mew, what is it?" he prodded.

Mew stopped looking around and grabbed Lucas' hand faster than Lucas could react. Instantly, Lucas' vision went blurry and a white vignette started to fill the edges of his field of view.

"Lucas? Lucas, are you okay?" Lily's voice rang out. It was faint, and sounded as if he was underwater.

When his vision returned a split second later, he was not with his friends anymore. He was standing in the forest, but in a different location, and was looking at what appeared to be figures in dark trench coats. There were three of them, and each had an embroidered "R" on the coat pockets. Immediately, Lucas knew what he was seeing.

However, underneath each Team Rocket logo, there was an acronym that read "R.S.S," and upon further examination, smaller letters revealed it to say "Rocket Search Squad."

"Rob! Where are we going?" one of the figures asked another.

"Well," the other figure, who must be Rob, replied, "We're on the right track. If what we know about him is correct, then these sporadic burn marks should be from his Charizard's tail flame. It's a shame… if Charizards had the correct muscles in their tails, they wouldn't have this problem."

"Wait, then why don't we find these all the time in the wild?" the third figure, who was a female, asked.

"Because Charizards can fly, numb-nut. Jeez, Becca, get a grip." Rob replied in a joking tone.

"Alright, guys…remember our assignment. Silver wants Lucas dead or alive, and we have to get his Pokémon too," the first figure said over the other two. "Which way, Rob?"

"Well, we just got off the path, and these marks seem to go… northeast. Follow me towards the cliff, it should only take a few minutes to get there," Rob replied.

Suddenly, the figures disappeared and purple light started to fill Lucas' vision. For the second time that morning, he started gasping for breath as his reality shifted to his own, and he saw Charizard, Jack, and Lily standing (and floating, for Mew) above him.

"What did you see?" Charizard asked. Lucas looked around with wild eyes, jolted to his feet, and sprinted towards the clearing with the mist. He stopped dead in his tracks as a cliff came into view, swiveled around with a yelp, and darted back into the forest.

He accidentally ran smack into Charizard's belly, knocking them both back into their backs.

"Guys, come on! Get everything and run! Team Rocket has a squad here in the forest searching for us, and they're coming this way! Let's go!" Lucas cried.

"Wait, what? How did they find us so fast?" Jack asked.

"Charizard's tail flame left burn marks on the ground," Lucas yelled as he frantically packed up the rest of his things. "We have to go, now!"

Chapter 12: Run

Lucas, Charizard, Jack, and Lily sprinted through the forest as fast as they could. They didn't stop to take breaths, get a drink, or look at where they were going on a map. They simply kept running until they couldn't run any more.

"I'm so sorry, Lucas! I didn't know I was causing so much damage!" Charizard panted as he ran.

"Don't worry about it, you can't help it! It's not your fault, pal," Lucas said through deep breaths. He pulled out the map when they finally stopped, and looked at it. Noticing a river nearby, he pointed and started to jog towards it.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked.

"The river! Trust me," Lucas replied in a hurry.

A few moments later, the band arrived at a deep-looking river. The opposite shore was at least fifty feet away, but the water was calm and moving at a steady pace. Lucas caught his breath and looked at Charizard.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked the dragon, who appeared distraught.

"No, I'm not. I'm endangering us all, Lucas. It's my fault they know where we were!" Charizard replied.

"Charizard, seriously? You're blaming this all on you? You can't help it! It's not your fault that you can't lift your tail muscles… your anatomy was built for flying, not running! None of this is on you… if anything, blame it on me. I'm the one who caused all this in the first place," Lucas told him.

"Listen you two, it doesn't matter who's fault this is. What matters now is that we're back together, we crippled them, and now we need to hide. And to hide, we need a plan," Lily said.

"Right… well, in terms of a plan, that's why I brought us here," Lucas said. "Lapras, it's been a while. Come on out!" Lucas threw a pokéball from his sash, and it skimmed on the water before bursting open. Lapras emerged from the light on the water, moaning happily.

Lucas remembered the day he met Lapras, which was right after he met Jack and Lily three years ago.

Lapras swam over to Lucas and nuzzled him with his head, and Lucas climbed on his back after patting him on the neck. His friends followed suit, and Charizard started to flap his wings and fly beside the Pokémon. As Jack hopped on last, Lapras started to follow the current of the river at a relatively slow pace.

Lucas sat down at the base of the Pokémon's neck, finally able to catch his breath and relax for a bit. A part of him refused to believe that everything going on was real… was he still dreaming? Had everything from finding Jack and Lily, to destroying the vault, been in his head the whole time?

_No, it couldn't be_, Lucas thought to himself. _I'm awake, and this is real. Team Rocket and the police are both after us, and we're on the run. I've broken the law by somehow having too many Pokémon, and now I'm a wanted boy._

These thoughts didn't scare Lucas as he drifted down the river, not one bit. Maybe it was the calm of the water, the sounds of the bird Pokémon in the adjacent forest, or the company he was with… but he didn't feel a hint of fright. One moment, he was fearing everything and running through the forest, and now he felt a strange calm.

Soon, however, the feeling vanished. In the distance, he saw a dock with fishing boats. Mildly perturbed, he pulled out his map and looked at it again. Sure enough, there was a fishing wharf on a wider part of the river, that soon drained into a lake. Lucas didn't see the docks, and was mildly angry at himself for his ignorance, but resolved that it would be okay if the group stayed calm and payed no attention to whomever might be there.

After five or so minutes, the wharf came into full view, with a small group of fishermen on the docks chatting with people in dark-blue suits. Lucas thought nothing of them and continued to act like he was minding his own business, but became panicked as he took a closer look at the suited figures.

What Lucas thought were dressed fishermen were actually police officers, and soon he could hear their voices drifting across the wind and water.

"… haven't seen anything?" one of the officers was saying.

"Nope," one of the men replied. "Nothing suspicious here. Is he really that dangerous?"

"Apparently. He's gone completely rogue… trashed the basement of the Game Corner, knocked over a fellow officer, and is in possession of a seventh pokéball on his sash. It should have transferred to the care of his regional professor, but it didn't, so…that means he has no trainer license," the second officer replied.

Lucas motioned to the others to get down and stay down, panicking because there was no way out. He pulled Charizard's pokéball off of his sash, returned him to it, and re-clipped it to his side again. The others followed his gaze, before gasping and crouching down (not that it would do much on the back of Lapras).

Eventually, the group got within eyeshot of the police officers and fishermen, and just as Lucas thought it was over for them, they turned around and started walking back to their police cars. As soon as they got in and left, the fishermen looked out at the water and saw them.

"What the…wait a second!" one of them said.

"No, no, no! We aren't a danger! We just want to be left alone!" Lucas shouted as Lapras swam past them. He raised his hands to show he wasn't going to pull out a ball "Please, just…don't."

The fishermen watched them glide past them in the water, before sighing and nodding their heads. Casting a line into the water, they glanced back at the group one more time before diverting their focus to the water.

Lucas, Jack, and Lily each let out a sigh of relief in unison. They barely slipped away from the police, and were safe again.

"Okay, guys, we REALLY have to be careful. That was a little too close for comfort," Lucas said after a few minutes. He let Charizard pop out of his pokéball and fly beside him again.

"I agree. That was terrifying…" Lily replied. "Where are we going to go?"

"The lake is just ahead. I say we get off at the shore and start hiking?" Lucas asked.

"Sounds good. Which way?" Jack asked.

"Any direction. I don't care where we go, but we have to get away… the border of the Kanto Region is just up to the north, so we can hide out there, perhaps… I'll figure it out," Lucas said.

"Take your time, Lucas… this is a lot for all of us. Right now, we need to take a break. Let's get to shore, and we'll figure it out from there," Charizard told him.

"You're right, Charzy… as always…" Lucas responded with a chuckle. Charizard laughed at Lucas' half-humorous response.

Before they knew it, the river emptied into the lake and Lapras guided them towards the adjacent shore. The group hopped off of Lapras' back, and Lapras gave a soft cry of relief. Obviously, he was nervous during the ordeal at the wharf. Lucas patted him on the head, reassuring the Pokémon that everything was fine now. In turn, the Pokémon smiled. Lucas pulled out Lapras' ball, returned him, and turned to his friends.

"So, are we going north?" Jack asked.

"I think so. We'll take it slow. After all, there's no towns around for miles, and I don't think Team Rocket has expanded their search this far yet," Lucas replied.

"Sounds good… let's get a move on before our luck turns," Charizard said.

"Agreed. Follow me," Lucas said back. He nodded to Jack and Lily, who gave him a confident smile in return. Lucas started to walk up the hill, prepared for the next leg of his journey.

Chapter 13: Hope in the Forest

Lucas and the gang walked until nightfall. The quiet air around them allowed the group to hear the sounds of distant Pokémon in the trees and dirt, and the loudest sound was the burning of Charizard's tail.

Surprisingly, Lucas wasn't tired at all. Even though they had been walking for hours, his feet didn't hurt and he wasn't in the mood to rest. The others, however, needed to rest… Lucas could see the wear and tear of the day on their faces, and they needed to sleep in comfort.

Soon, the group stumbled upon a very small clearing, not too dissimilar to the one before near the cliff. However, upon further examination, they realized that there was no cliff nearby – only forests as far as the eye could see.

The group finally settled down and got ready to pack in for the night. "Man, it's real dark out here… look at all the stars!" Lucas said to the group. "I wish I had binoculars or something."

Indeed, when the others looked up, they could clearly see thousands of stars above them. The Milky Way galaxy shot through the sky, with dust trails illuminating nebulae and colorful stars shining brighter than ever.

Lucas set up his stuff in the middle of the clearing and laid down once he got some food in his stomach. He stared up at the sky as a meteor broke the atmosphere, creating a brilliant trail of blue flames. Charizard laid on his back, wings folded neatly, next to Lucas.

The two of them didn't say a word to each other as they both looked up at the star-lit heavens for an hour or so. When Lucas finally moved his head, however, he noticed that Jack and Lily were both asleep. Turning back around, he saw that Charizard was fast asleep, too. His eyes were peacefully closed and he was smiling. Gently, Lucas scooched closer to him and listened.

For whatever reason, the sound of Charizard's soft breathing calmed Lucas every night. It made him forget about every struggle he had, every feeling of anxiety. He figured that this was because of the bond the two had. After all, they weren't just friends – they were family.

Lucas closed his eyes after one last glance up at the sky, smiling just like the dragon was. Before he knew it, the world started to fade away into a dream.

ʘ

Hours later, Lucas woke up with a start. The air was still and quiet, and there were no sounds in the forest. Lucas checked his Pokédex for the time, and on the auto-dimmed screen, he saw that it was a little before two in the morning.

For some reason, Lucas couldn't close his eyes again – he wasn't tired anymore. He figured that this could be for a number of reasons, but it was an annoyance nonetheless. The last thing he needed was to be lying awake for the next six hours.

Shining his dim light around, he noticed that the others were still fast asleep. Charizard hadn't moved a muscle, and was still in the same position as he was hours before. Lucas turned off the light and looked up at the sky, noticing that the stars were shining just as bright as they were before, but the Milky Way had shifted in the heavens.

The forest around the campsite was pitch black, but Lucas' eyes slowly started to adjust. Charizard's tail flame, in his relaxed and asleep state, was very dim. When his eyes finally did adjust, he saw something strange.

A soft, blue light was drifting though the forest in the distance. As it travelled, it illuminated the trees around it. It grew steadily brighter as Lucas watched it, perplexed. He figured that it was merely another Pokémon that was just as restless as himself.

However, Lucas then heard crunching sounds, as if it was stepping on twigs and leaves. Lucas stood up and peered further into the forest, attempting to make out what the figure was. Soon, a figure appeared out from a line of trees, stopped, and stared at Lucas.

It was what appeared to be a buck, but it was glowing in a soft light blue color. Lucas could partially see through the buck, implying it was translucent, and it had brighter white spots drifting across its body and legs. Multiple tall antlers protruded from its head, also glowing. As it moved, it made no sound.

"What the…" Lucas whispered.

It stood in the distance, staring at Lucas with its body angled to the side, for what seemed like an eternity. Lucas stood up and started mindlessly walking towards the buck, and it slowly grew in size the more he got closer to it. Suddenly, the buck turned from Lucas and started to slowly walk away.

"Hey, wait! What are you?" Lucas asked, picking up his pace to catch up. The buck was now gone behind another wall of trees, but he could still see its glow on the trunks surrounding it. Lucas started to jog through the forest, intent on finding the creature.

When he caught up to the line of trees, he rounded the corner and looked in the direction of the light. However, the buck was now over a hundred feet away from him, even at the slow pace it was travelling at.

"Come back!" Lucas cried. He didn't know why he wanted to reach the creature in the first place – something inside of him was pushing him to call out to it, as if it was the most important thing in the world. He started to jog again as the buck turned around and trotted away, blue light now radiating from the creature's body.

Lucas realized it was guiding him.

The cycle continued for what seemed like ten minutes – Lucas would see the buck, it would walk away, and Lucas would chase it before seeing it again. Eventually, however, the cycle was broken and the buck didn't move.

It was standing in a clearing near a stream, not too dissimilar from the clearing where he met Mew. Lucas stood and watched it as it lit up the trees around the clearing. As he started to move towards the creature, it didn't move one inch. Obviously, this was the place Lucas was being guided to.

Lucas finally made it to the creature, and it was much bigger than he imagined. It was probably over nine feet tall with its antlers, but at least six feet tall at the top of its head. The buck's legs had what appeared to be blades attached to them, and it stood on the tip of each blade. Its body was skinny but muscular at the same time, and its shoulders had outcroppings that seemed to mark a color change in its body. The tail was very pronounced and fluffy.

However, the buck was still a translucent, light-blue color, with white orbs of light dancing around the inside and outside of its body. Lucas could feel that the light radiating from it had warmth to it, as if a soft fire was burning inside the creature although there was none.

"What are you?" Lucas asked. He didn't know what else to say, as this was the first time a creature like this had interacted with him.

The buck didn't respond, and took a step towards Lucas. It looked at the ground, and that's when Lucas saw something he had never seen before. The ground underneath the creature's bladed feet was blossoming with life, flowers thriving in the blue light and grass growing rapidly in front of his own eyes, as if he was watching a time-lapse.

Still, the buck didn't say anything, but instead reached its head down to Lucas' shoulder and yanked his backpack off.

"What are you -" Lucas half-asked. Confusion overtook awe as the beast somehow unzipped his backpack, reached in with its long snout, and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"That's the picture that my other-self gave me, isn't it? But… wait… that's in my pocket still," Lucas told it.

The creature dropped the picture, which landed perfectly in front of Lucas facing him. He picked it up and looked at it in the soft light before realizing what he was really seeing.

It was an old picture of him and his mother, taken by his father, when he was eight years old. He was playing with his mother in a field with a frisbee, laughing and jumping in the air. Lucas had completely forgotten about the picture, as it had been at the bottom of his backpack for years – longer than his house had been burned down for.

He held the picture in his hands, and a small tear tricked down his cheek. However, it wasn't a tear of sadness, but rather a tear of happiness. It felt good to hold a cherished memory in his hands after years of it slipping his mind, and seeing his mother's face again gave him a pleasurable pain in his heart.

He looked up at the buck, which was towering in front of him and looking down at the picture as well.

"How did you know?" Lucas asked. Although he knew the creature could not respond to him, the buck looked into his eyes and gave a soft smile. It held eye contact with Lucas for what seemed like an eternity, before turning around and starting to walk away.

"Wait, wait! Don't go!" Lucas cried out. The buck continued to walk away. "What are you trying to tell me? Come back!"

It was no use. The creature walked back into the forest, and Lucas noticed how it seemed to glide across the ground as it walked. Before he knew it, it rounded a line of trees and Lucas started jogging through the forest to catch up to it.

"Hey!" he shouted one more time. The ambient blue light started to fade at this point, and after a few more seconds it was completely gone. Lucas ran up to the border of the tree line, rounded the corner, and stopped dead in his tracks.

The creature was completely gone. "Hello?" Lucas said, now quieter than before. No light shone through the forest, and the only light was coming from the stars above him. He made his way back to the clearing where his backpack was, sat down, and looked at the picture one more time.

Once more, he checked the time on his Pokédex. Somehow, the time had not changed. It was still just before two in the morning, and the stars had not changed from when he had woken up.

An overwhelming feeling of fatigue took over him, and he closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he fell asleep to one last thought of the mystical buck.

Chapter 14: Take Me Home

In the morning, Lucas woke up very slowly. His eyes fluttered, only to be blinded by sharp sunlight through the trees. Eventually, he got used to the light and fully opened his eyes. Jack, Lily, and Charizard were all staring down at him. Alongside them was Lugia, Mew, and his other Pokémon.

"Are you alright?" Charizard asked. "We found you a few hundred feet away in a clearing. There was a picture of some people next to you."

Lucas remembered what happened during the night with the glowing creature in the woods. He also remembered the picture, and sat up slowly to look for it. Jack handed it to him, and he looked at it before putting it in his backpack without a word.

"I…I'm fine. Sorry," Lucas replied.

"Are you sure? You never sleep walk, as far as I remember," Lily asked.

"I wasn't sleep walking. Last night, something led me into the woods," Lucas replied.

"What was it? Another Pokémon?" Lugia chirped up.

"I don't really know… it looked like a buck, but it was huge… maybe nine feet tall including its antlers. And it was glowing a blue color, with white orbs drifting around its body. It was also translucent," he explained. "When it stopped, I caught up to it, and it pulled that picture out of my bookbag."

"Who's in that picture?" Charizard asked apprehensively, not knowing if it was appropriate or not.

After a moment, Lucas smiled and replied, "My family. That was taken years and years ago, when my father was still a better person. He took that picture, actually. It's of my mother and I playing with a frisbee.

"I totally forgot about it until last night, but it brings back a lot of good memories now. I wish that I had a way to tell her," Lucas said. Mew floated over to him and rested a paw on his shoulder, looking him dead in the eyes and smiling. Instantly, Lucas' spirits lifted.

"What could that creature have been?" Lucas asked after a little bit.

"I don't know," Lugia responded. "It doesn't sound like any Pokémon I've seen before."

"Well, maybe we'll find out one day," Jack said. "Maybe a new adventure, after this one?"

"Maybe…" Lucas replied. He remained silent for a few minutes while thinking. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. "Wait a second. I think we're close to my old house," Lucas jumped up suddenly and told the others. He pulled out his map and looked at it.

"Yeah, how could I miss that? It's literally a mile away!" Lucas exclaimed. "Can we go? It's been a while since I was able to… do something there."

"Of course, Lucas. I understand," Lugia responded.

After packing up, which only took a few minutes, Lucas started to walk in the direction of his house. The woods were silent, and the clearing that he was in last night was in the direction of his house. As he passed it, he noticed that the ground was covered in tall grass and foliage, and the trees were blooming with flowers whereas the other trees were not. Lucas stared at it in awe, not knowing how that was even possible.

ʘ

It seemed like no time at all before Lucas and the group stumbled upon a large clearing with a house. Lucas didn't know who was in the house, but he knew that this was where his home had been. He could tell because of the large back yard he used to play in, with the large oak tree dominating the area.

"Could you guys just stay here for a few minutes?" Lucas asked the others. "I'll be back soon, and then we can figure out what to do next."

"Yeah, no problem," Charizard replied. Without another word, Lucas started walking towards the house. It was completely different – no longer resembling a log cabin, it had vinyl sidings and a large, elaborate front door. The owners must have been wealthy – in a garage outside the house, an expensive sports car faced outwards with a snarling grill.

The owners looked through the window and saw Lucas crossing their lawn. They came out of the front door, and a husband and wife jogged up to Lucas.

"What are you doing, wandering around on our property? This is trespassing!" the woman shouted at him. Lucas didn't respond, and instead shoved past them to continue walking.

"Who so you think you are? Do you know who I am?" the man angrily shouted at him.

Lucas turned around, and after a second, replied, "No, I don't. And frankly, I couldn't care less about who you are. Now leave me alone." The husband and wife, both taken aback, stared at him as he walked to the edge of the woods.

Pretty soon, he saw it. A small gravestone lay tilted in the ground, moss and vines covering it partially. The ground around it was covered in overgrowth, and cracks were scattered around the base of the marker.

The owners of the new house ran up to him. "If you don't get off of our property, we'll call the police! This is your last – oh, my. Oh my god…" the woman stuttered.

Three years. It had been three long years since Lucas had seen his mother's grave. He collapsed to his knees in front of it, just staring at it. A smile crept across his face, and he felt similar to how he felt when that strange buck presented Lucas with his picture.

"Come on. Let's leave him be. This is his business," the man said to his wife. They both walked away, quietly shuffling through the grass to their house.

He sat there for a few minutes, before pulling out the picture of him and his mother.

"Hey, mom," he said. "It's been a while. You wouldn't believe everything that's happened."

He noticed his friends looking at him through the corner of his eye, and Charizard started to walk over to him. The others stayed behind, crouching in bushes and waiting.

"I found this picture. Well, I didn't actually find it… this strange creature helped me find it, but I'm happy it did," Lucas continued. After one last glance at it, he laid the picture at the grave's base. "I thought that you should have it here. Maybe it'll get buried or something, I don't know, but at least it'll be closer to you."

Charizard eventually caught up to him, stopped, and looked at the gravestone. In the shade of the trees, his tail lit up the gravestone and cast a soft ambient light around it.

"Are you okay?" the dragon asked.

"Yeah. Just needed to take care of something real quick," Lucas replied. To his surprise, no tears rolled down his cheeks. He felt an incredible sense of peace and closure, and even though he had found closure long before, he felt it again just as strong. Lucas reached out his hand and brushed away the vines that were partially covering his mother's name, and picked off some of the moss on the top.

The others caught up to Lucas, and Mew flew to the gravestone. He gave it a long glance before reaching out his paw and touching it. The letters on the grave started to glow, and a searing heat blasted the others in the face. When Mew released his hand, the letters of his mother's name had been burnt – now, the gravestone could be easily read by all.

"Thank you, Mew. Really," Lucas told the silent Pokémon. Mew only looked at Lucas and gave him a smile, before his eyes widened in shock. Lucas, Jack, and Lily all turned around to face the opposite side of the lawn, where three figures emerged.

They were the same figures that Lucas had seen yesterday morning with Mew's help. Slowly, the three figures sauntered over to the group, stopping short within a hundred or so feet.

Chapter 15: The Hunters Emerge

"Well, well, well… looks like we found you!" the first figure said. He was still dressed in the black trench coat (all of them were, actually), but this time, they each had large black hoodies covering their faces. Lucas couldn't see what they looked like, because it was completely black underneath the hoods.

"Wasn't as hard as we thought it would be, was it?" the second figure, who Lucas recognized as Rob, said. "A day's worth of tracking only to find them at a late memorial service… the boss is going to love this."

"What do you guys want? Why are you tracking us? Who are you, really?!" Lucas yelled at them. Jack and Lily took defensive stances, and Charizard's flame burned larger and hotter – he was angry now.

"So many questions… well, we're a search squad sent out by Team Rocket. Our task is to make sure that you don't interfere with anything the boss is doing, under any circumstances. As for who we are, well… that's none of your business," the female, Becca, replied in a mock-happy tone.

"Enough games, Becca," Lucas yelled back. "And you too, Rob! I'm already sick of you guys! We just want to be left alone!"

The owners of the house bolted outside. Before they could say anything, they saw the hooded figures and darted back through the door.

"How do you know our names?" the first nameless figure asked.

"None of your business," Lucas said in a sarcastic voice. This ticked off the first figure, who started shouting at the group.

"We have a job to do, and it involves you, Lucas! You destroyed a major command post of Team Rocket, marking you as a threat to our operations. We've been assigned to either take your Pokémon, capture you, or… terminate you altogether. Personally, based on your attitude, I'm beginning to enjoy the thought of the latter option!" he yelled.

"I just wanted to rescue my friends! They're the only family I have left, and you guys took them from me! I don't care about what you guys do anymore… my brother's business is not mine to share! Just leave us alone!" Lucas shouted back.

"Do you really think we're just going to leave? As much as that sob story is true – I should know – I'm not leaving without getting paid! Do you think we do what we do for free?" Rob said in an angry tone.

Lucas was taken aback by this. They weren't going to stop hunting them as long as they had money in their grasp, and Lucas realized that the only choice he had left was to stand up to them and fight.

"Very well," Lucas monotonously replied after a minute. "Then there's only one way to settle this."

"Two, actually… I'll take the easier of the two," Becca replied menacingly. She reached into her trench coat and pulled out an object that Lucas had never seen. It was a type of pokéball, but it had no white bottom half. Instead, it was completely purple, with black spirals stretching up from the bottom to the top, and it had no button on the side.

"What is that?" Jack asked.

"That's a Dark Ball… it can capture Pokémon that belong to other trainers, and it turns them evil," Lily replied. "I know because I've seen one before. Don't ask where."

Lucas heard what Lily said to Jack, and whipped out all of his balls. "Oh, no you don't! You'll have to fight all of us to get one of us!" he shouted at the trio of hunters. Each of his pokéballs burst open in front of him.

Dragonite and Flygon appeared next to each other, giving a little fist bump (they had grown quite close as friends) before facing the enemy with a snarl. Charizard, Lugia, and Mew stood in attack poses, as they were already out. The last one, a regular pokéball, burst open to show Porygon-Z, who was twitching erratically. Immediately, he saw the hunters and shrieked.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked the virtual Pokémon. "Wait… they stole you, didn't they? It wasn't Greygar who stole you, it was them…" The Pokémon nodded in reply, before seizing naturally in its quick, glitch-like fashion. "All the more reason to fight them! Show them that you are more than what you appear to be!"

The Pokémon nodded, building up his courage. Before long, he was taking an attack pose as well.

"Toss it, Becca. Go for the one he cares about the most," the first figure said.

Before Lucas could respond, the Dark Ball was flying through the air. Lucas' Pokémon didn't have enough time to react, and barely saw it arcing through the sky. It connected with Charizard, who started shrieking in a dark, demonic tone.

"Charizard! NO!" Lucas screamed. "CHARZY!"

Charizard was pulled into the ball, and just as fast as the event started, it was over. The ball, just like any other pokéball, gravitated towards Becca, who grabbed it and opened it.

Charizard flew out of the ball, but instead of a blinding light, there was a dark haze surrounding him. A purple mist swirled about the dragon, and his eyes were glowing red. Lucas' friends and Pokémon looked at Charizard in fear, and Mew backed away, obviously afraid.

"You see, Lucas… you cannot stop us. Nobody can. Don't you understand? Team Rocket will always get what they want, when they want, however they want. And there's nothing you can do about it," Rob said.

"CHARIZARD!" Lucas yelled. Some part of him still had hope. He pulled out his pokéball, aimed it at the dragon, and pressed the button… but nothing happened.

"He's ours, Lucas," Becca told him, laughing.

"I'LL END YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I WILL BE THE DEATH OF YOU!" Lucas screamed at them. Anger and hatred pumped through his veins, and desperation cracked his voice as he realized his best friend was gone.

"I've had enough of this… do we have any use for him, or does that 'dead or alive' rule still apply?" Rob asked the head figure.

"Do whatever you want. It still applies," the unnamed figure responded.

"Very well… Charizard?" Becca ordered the dragon. Charizard turned and looked at her, teeth gleaming in the sunlight, wet with anger-induced saliva. "End him."

Before Lucas, Jack, Lily, or any of the Pokémon had any time to react, Charizard was upon them. Lucas couldn't utter a sound before the dragon swooped him into the air. As fast as the attack came, it ended. Charizard swung Lucas in the air and released him at an incredible speed, and Lucas flew past his friends towards the house.

All Lucas saw was the wall of the house flying at his face, and then the world went to black in the blink of an eye.

Chapter 16: Not Like This

Lucas opened his eyes extremely slowly. He looked around himself, but noticed he was in a white room. There was a door nearby, but it didn't seem to lead to anywhere, as it was in the center of the room in a frame.

Strangely, Lucas didn't feel any pain. He also didn't feel any emotions of anger or sadness, even though he remembered clearly what had happened. At first, Lucas figured that his other-self was trying to contact him again through another dream, but after waiting a few minutes with no sign of himself, he gave up.

"Hello?" Lucas shouted. He heard his voice echo on the walls of the room, which were far away compared to last time. "Anybody here? What is this place?" He started walking towards the door, wondering why there was a door that lead to nowhere.

Trying the knob, he noticed it was locked. There was no lock on either side, either, so he gave up.

"I wouldn't open that if I were you, Lucas," a voice came from behind him. Lucas swiveled around to face a gigantic equine beast, with two other creatures by his side. "You don't know what lies beyond it, and once you find out, there's no turning back."

The equine creature had a massive, gold, ring-like structure with pearls jutting out of its torso. It was white with a dark-grey underbelly, and it had a short tail that ended in a tapered tip. Its head resembled a helmet worn by a warrior, and it had green, piercing eyes. Instead of hooves, it had short gold blades that it stood on.

One of the other massive creatures was a red bird of sorts, and it resembled Lugia by the way its wings were shaped, but the similarities ended there. Instead of a tail, it had a third wing-hand. Black stripes ran up the body of the creature, and a large white tuft of feathers wrapped around its neck. Its eyes were a stunning blue color, and the beak of the creature appeared sharper than a knife. It was also very large, towering at almost 20 feet tall.

The third creature struck Lucas as familiar, and for good reason – it was the same creature that Lucas followed not one night before. However, it was no longer glowing a light blue color, but appeared normal now. Instead, it had a black body, with a blue head, neck, and shoulders. A blue line ran down its back towards its tail, and the antlers of the creature were adorned with gems. These gems were different colors of the rainbow, and they shone in the light of a sun that was nowhere in the sky.

"Who are you guys?" Lucas asked after a minute of staring at the three beasts.

"I'm surprised you don't recall us. I'm Arceus, the god of all Pokémon," the center equine creature stated. "I was born before the universe was created, and every Pokémon was created in my image."

The second creature spoke in a raspy, bird-like voice. "I am Yveltal, the Pokémon of Death," it simply stated, with no further explanation.

The third creature, the buck, spoke in a soft voice. "I am Xerneas, the Pokémon of Life. I bring life to the people and Pokémon of your world," the buck said. "I see the look on your face. You surely remember me?"

"Yeah… so, wait… am I dead?" Lucas asked.

"Unfortunately, yes, you are," Arceus replied. "Your Charizard was taken over by the Dark Ball, and he killed you under the control of those evil people."

"What can I do?" he asked.

"Nothing. Your time on Earth has ended. It is now time to move on," Yveltal told him.

"No. I'm not going with you guys! I have to go back," Lucas said.

"Lucas, I'm sorry, but I cannot do that," Arceus said.

"Well, whatever's past that door, I don't want to see it. Jack, Lily, and Charizard are my family now. And not only that, but Charizard is my best friend. He saved my life when I needed him the most all those years ago, and now he needs me more than ever! You have to let me go back!" Lucas said defiantly. Xerneas stepped up to Lucas and looked down at him.

"Lucas, Charizard was captured by a Dark Ball. He no longer belongs to you. He's been taken over by a powerful evil that consumes the soul of the Pokémon, leaving only hate inside. There is only enough good left in him for him to realize he is alive," Xerneas explained. "He knows what he is doing, but has no control over it. Team Rocket now controls his mind."

"Then how can I help him? I have to save him somehow, there must be a way…" Lucas pleaded. "Please, I can't leave him like this… after everything we've been through…"

"There is only one way – compassion. You must show him that you still love him, and that he can fight it if he truly wants to. Do you remember that picture I showed you?" the buck asked.

"Yeah… what about it?" Lucas replied.

"I showed it to you because I know you needed it. That picture would give you an incentive to keep moving forward, and you did. You need to show him that he can fight past this and move forward, too," Xerneas said.

"Lucas, I've been watching you for a long time now," Arceus said. "We all have." Yveltal and Xerneas nodded their heads. "We can tell that you've been through a lot. You've seen many things that many trainers would have only dreamed of. Yet, you've also fought through many terrifying things, and came out of the other side with your courage and humanity intact. You are more powerful than you could ever imagine.

"Because of this, I will let you return to Earth, but on one condition. You must destroy Team Rocket. They are a diabolical organization that will stop at nothing to steal from everyone, and they must be stopped."

"I will, I promise. I'll make it my mission to bring them down… especially after what they did to Charizard and to me," Lucas replied. "Yveltal, you're pretty quiet. What do you have to say about this?"

"I have no say in the matter. I did my job of bringing your soul here for judgement. The decision of letting you return to Earth lies with Arceus and Xerneas, not me," Yveltal said.

After a moment, Arceus spoke. "Are you ready?" the beast asked.

"Yes, I am," Lucas replied.

"Very well, step forward. When you touch my antlers, you shall return to your physical body and no pain will hinder you," Xerneas explained. Lucas stepped towards the large buck, and it bowed down in front of Lucas on its front legs.

As Lucas was reaching out his hand, a thought came to him. "Wait," he said abruptly. "Can I ask a question?"

"Ask me anything, Lucas," Arceus said. "I will answer."

"How is my mother? Is she alright?" Lucas asked.

"That's it? You could ask me anything you wanted, even 'What's the meaning of life,' and that is your question?" the god asked.

"Yeah, that's it. I miss her, and I never got to tell her that I loved her before she died. I just want to know if she's at peace or not," Lucas responded.

"You are a kind person, Lucas. You really are… it never ceases to amaze me how much you care for others," Arceus answered. He closed his eyes for a minute, and the extended ring around his torso started to glow. After a second, it faded, and he opened his eyes again.

"Your mother is fine. She wanted me to tell you that she loves you too, she doesn't blame you for her death, and she wants you to stay strong. She said she'll always be watching over you," he told Lucas.

"Thank you," Lucas said softly after a minute. He felt a tear roll down his cheek as a smile reached from ear to ear. It felt nice to know that his mother was still there with him, and she found closure just as he had. With these thoughts, and a new resolve, he reached out his hand again.

"Make us proud, Lucas," all three of them said in unison.

Lucas nodded his head, and laid his finger on Xerneas' antlers. The three figures faded away in a bright light, and Lucas closed his eyes as a strange feeling shot over him. A shrieking sound filled his ears as his body started to wobble, and before he knew it, it was over.

Chapter 17: Remember

Lucas' eyes shot open as he gasped for air, and his vision returned to normal shortly after. He was greeted with the sight of his friends and Pokémon towering over him, and when he looked around, he noticed he was inside the bottom floor of the house. The wall had been completely smashed by the force of his impact with it, and a large gaping hole with debris all around it dominated the room.

"Lucas! You're alive! Oh my god!" Lily screamed. Tears were streaming down the faces of all of his friends. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Lucas replied. He noticed that he had no cuts, bruises, or broken bones. Without missing a beat, he sat up and looked outside of the hole.

The Team Rocket squad was still there, Charizard now flying beside Becca. They were each staring at him in shock, obviously bewildered as to how he survived.

"What did you see, Lucas?" Lugia asked him, who was too big to fit in the hole.

"I saw… these three large creatures. One of them was named Xerneas, and he was the creature I saw in the forest last night. He claimed to be the Pokémon of Life. The others were Yveltal, the Pokémon of Death; and Arceus, the god of Pokémon. They told me to come back. I have to stop them!" Lucas responded. He got to his feet and bolted out of the hole in the wall, straight towards the trio of goons.

Stopping not fifty feet away, he spoke to them. "It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me, so come on!" he screamed. This was just an incentive to get Charizard to attack him again, and it worked. The dragon flew at Lucas, eyes blazing red, and tackled him to the ground. Lucas rolled back as Charizard's claws stabbed the dirt where his head was just a second ago.

"Stop, Charizard! Let me speak to you!" Lucas pleaded.

"You're worthless, Lucas! Worthless!" the now-shadow Pokémon replied in a demonic voice. "And you must die, now!" He let out a massive roar, and charged at Lucas at full speed.

Lucas dodged the attack, but wasn't prepared for the next charge. He was knocked down onto his back, and the wind was almost knocked out of his lungs. Charizard stood over Lucas with his clawed foot on his chest, growling in a dark, menacing way. Lucas stared up at him, but wasn't able to get away.

"Don't do this, Charizard," Lucas pleaded. Charizard didn't listen, and instead raised his hand up to deliver the final slash. "Please, old friend! This isn't you! You have to fight it!"

"I will not stop for as long as my masters command me. And they have told me to kill you! You need to die!" the dragon roared back.

"Try to remember me, Charzy! I know you're still in there somewhere!" he said. "Please, remember…" The dragon stopped for a moment. "Don't you remember us sitting under the Milky Way?" he asked the beast. Charizard shook his head and raised his claws up further.

"What about all the nights we curled up when it got too cold?"

The dragon's breathing started to quicken.

"Or when we fought in battles together, especially my father? And how happy we were?"

Charizard's eyes squeezed shut, and he started to growl again. "Shut up, shut up! I'm done listening to you!"

"Remember the time you flew with me in the Orange Islands, and we could see for miles in the distance? Remember the views?" Lucas asked desperately.

"SHUT UP, LUCAS!" he screamed.

"What about the night you saved my life?! When I was about to die in the cold, and you protected me?! When our friendship was formed?! You have to remember, somewhere in your soul! REMEMBER ME, CHARZY!" Lucas screamed, grabbing the dragon's leg. Tears were streaming down his face, and he closed his eyes. Charizard's claws stopped only a few inches from his face, gleaming in the sunlight.

When Lucas opened his eyes again, Charizard's eyes were no longer red. The dark purple mist around him had ceased, and he was no longer drooling saliva. He was still hovering over Lucas, but was staring at him in a longing way.

"What are you waiting for, Charizard? Kill him now!" Becca screamed. Charizard, instead, took his foot off of Lucas' chest and lowered his hand to his side.

"What have I done… oh my god… Lucas…" the dragon stuttered. "I remember… everything. I'm so sorry, I swear I never wanted to hurt you…"

"I know, Charzy. I know. It wasn't you doing it. You didn't do anything wrong," he told his friend.

Lucas had never seen a dragon cry before.

Tears rolled down Charizard's cheeks and snout, and he fell to his knees. The flame on his tail was extremely small, and he was shivering in guilt. Sobs came out of his mouth as his squeezed-shut eyes flooded with tears.

Charizard kept on trying to say how sorry he was, but Lucas didn't care about that. He had his friend back, and that was all that mattered. "It's okay, buddy. You're okay," he said, consoling the beast. Lucas wrapped his arms around his friend, who returned the gesture by bringing in Lucas to his chest. He could feel the sobs in Charizard's chest as his lungs struggled for air.

Lucas' emotions soon turned to anger, but not at his friend. He broke away from the embrace and stood in front of the dragon, protecting him from another attempt by the Dark Ball.

"That was the last straw, goons. You've doomed yourselves!" Lucas shouted. Jack, Lily, and all of his Pokémon ran up to Lucas and stood in front of Charizard as well, encompassing him in a semi-circle.

"No, no!" Becca shouted, throwing the Dark Ball again. It flew through the air in an arc, and was about to go past everyone again.

Lucas somehow found the strength to jump extremely high in the air, and it seemingly happened in slow motion.

When he was in the air, he looked to his side near the woods. Standing by his mother's grave was Xerneas, but he wasn't glowing like last night – instead, he was in his normal colors, behind some of the trees, looking at Lucas. Xerneas gave a smile and a nod, before fading away and leaving flowers where he was standing.

He caught the ball in his outstretched hand, and the others stared at him in awe. Lucas dropped the ball to the ground when he landed, and crushed it with his foot to destroy it. The ball shattered into many pieces, sending fragments across the ground, and a deafening shriek came from the depths of a dark purple light that radiated from the place where the ball once sat. Gradually, the light faded away and the shrieks stopped – only to reveal the now-shattered remains of the item in the short grass.

"NO!" Rob shouted. Becca didn't utter a word, and neither did the last figure.

Charizard got to his feet, and when Lucas and the others looked at him, they saw a white mist swirling around his body. It was a bright mist, sparkling in the sunlight, and it seemed to orbit him.

"Wow…" Jack said. "You purified him, Lucas. That white mist will circle him forever. It is a sign that he was purified from the evil inside that ball."

Charizard had regained his composure, and stood by Lucas. The tears had dried on his snout, but his eyes now showed anger.

"Are you alright, pal?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah. And I'm ready to fight," he replied as the grunts drew their pokéballs.

"There's one way to settle this, and you're going to lose! You can count on that!" the head figure angrily stated. He drew three Ultra Balls from his trench coat.

Lucas turned to his friends and gave a small speech. "Okay… guys, we're going to have a large battle. Show them no mercy. I need all of you to fight as hard as you can. This will be a very difficult battle, and I can't guarantee that everyone will make it out of this unscathed.

"Arceus told me that I had to stop Team Rocket. Well, it starts here and now. We have a new mission, and I need to be sure that you guys will follow me no matter what," he said.

"We'll all be with you, until the end!" Lugia boomed.

"Alright! Is everyone ready?" he asked. All of his friends nodded their heads, and Charizard's eyes gleamed with determination. Lucas could tell that he was angry at what they did to him.

"Well, then… all Pokémon, attack!" he yelled. Porygon-Z, Flygon, Dragonite, Lugia, Mew, and Charizard all rushed into battle. Jack pulled out his own pokéball, releasing his Shelgon and sending him out to battle too. Jack gave the round Pokémon a pat on the head, and the Pokémon turned around and started charging as well.

Lucas gave a battle cry, determination to win for his family igniting a fire in his eyes.

Chapter 18: The Battle for Freedom

Before long, the area outside of the new house turned into a battleground. Lucas didn't even see which Pokémon the other team threw out, because everything was happening so fast. All he could see was a flurry of attacks and flying Pokémon, and loud shouting filled his ears. He didn't even have to issue commands – his Pokémon were doing what they needed to do without missing a beat, and years of training had given them immense strength and quick reaction times.

A large explosion rocked the ground, and Flygon was sent hurling into the air. He landed on his small, toeless feet, skidding past Lucas before charging back into the battle. The close call startled Lucas, who had to jump out of the way at the last second.

Lucas could hear Charizard yelling amidst the fighting – he was battling against an Onix, and Lucas couldn't remember how many times this had happened. He vividly remembered the Onix that Giovanni had, so this one was the second.

"Come get some! I know how to deal with you all too well!" Charizard yelled. He shot out a massive flame, which burned blue-hot. The hot fire began to chip away at the Onix, who recoiled in pain. Charizard used the opportunity to grab it by the tail and swing it over his head into the ground, and it landed with a large thud that shook the ground. The Onix attempted to get up, but Dragonite came by to assist and stomped it back into the dirt.

"Charizard, look out!" Lucas yelled. Another Pokémon – a Salamence, again similar to his battles with his father – was charging with rage through the skies, aimed straight at him. Charizard darted to the side while simultaneously spraying a jet of fire at the flying lizard, who very narrowly dodged it. After the initial attack, Charizard darted into the sky to battle the Salamence high above the others.

Lucas had never seen a mid-air Pokémon dogfight before. Both the Salamence and Charizard darted through the sky like bullets, pounding each other with attacks and attempting to knock each other out of the air first. It was a spectacle to watch – two dragons fighting for domination of the skies above a massive battle of Pokémon.

Eventually, after many minutes, the Salamence was finally brought down. Charizard had rammed into the beast in the air, colliding a fiery fist with the other dragon's stomach. Lucas watched as the Salamence spiraled down to the Earth with a trail of smoke, only to collide with the porch of the house.

Lucas rushed to the house, intent on getting the occupants inside out as fast as possible. He jumped over the body of the passed-out Salamence, which was literally in the floor of the front porch, and kicked open the door. The husband and wife were cowering in the living room.

"Please, don't hurt us!" the man shouted.

"No, I'm here to help you! Come on, follow me… I'm getting you guys out of here!" Lucas replied, holding out his hand. The wife grabbed his hand and got up, and the husband did the same a minute later.

"This way, follow me!" Lucas ordered. He ran out of the front door and guided them to safety, motioning them to run into the forest. A shock rippled across the land that startled Lucas, and he looked at the battle to see a fireball rise into the air. Mew had delivered a Psyshock attack to Team Rocket's Onix, and the attack had left the Pokémon unable to battle any longer. Its rocky strength spent, the Onix collapsed to the ground and fainted.

_Two down, _Lucas thought with satisfaction. _Why are they using the same Pokémon that Giovanni used, though? Strange…_

"Quickly, go into the forest and hide!" Lucas told the homeowners. "Don't come back until this is over, I don't want to see you guys get hurt!"

"Alright! Hey, who are you?" the woman asked.

"That's not important right now," Lucas replied.

"Oh, and… sorry for how we treated you. We never noticed the grave was there," the man said.

"Don't worry about it. Now go! Run!" Lucas shouted. They ran off into the forest, and he raced back to the battle at full speed, skidding to a stop at where he was before.

Dragonite flew over the battlefield in a wide arc, electric shocks coming from his two antennae. It collided with a Pokémon that Lucas didn't recognize, and he pulled out his Pokédex to examine it.

The Pokémon was a shadow Pokémon, and Lucas could tell because of the red eyes and purple mist surrounding it. It was what appeared to be a canine of sorts, but it was yellow with spikes covering its hind legs. The hair that comprised its small mane was also spiked and white in color. It had a sharp snout with pointed yellow ears, and it was extremely fast.

Lucas' Pokédex beeped, "Jolteon, the lightning Pokémon. Jolteon is one of the eight evolutions of Eevee. Its fur is comprised of electrically charged needles that generate negatively charged ions. It has an organ in its lungs that produces electricity as well, and this - combined with its charged cells and needles - can produce up to ten thousand volts of electricity. Due to mood swings, it is difficult to train."

The shadow Jolteon was viciously attacking all of Lucas' Pokémon, and the shadow effect was making it incredibly strong. Electricity was sparking out of its body like crazy, making it a living tesla coil, and the sparks were attempting to reach out to all of the Pokémon around it. Even Lugia or Mew couldn't get too close, because the Jolteon was too fast to be attacked and the electric shocks were too strong.

"Guys, stand down! Get away from it, it's a shadow Pokémon!" Lucas screamed. All of his Pokémon, even Shelgon, jumped away from the electric canine. However, they surrounded it to make sure it couldn't escape. The Jolteon began to growl and its fur started to make a terrifying static noise that filled the air.

Police cars rolled into the driveway of the house, sirens screaming and lights flashing. There must have been a total of five cars, and a few armored SWAT trucks rolled up as well.

Over a microphone, a police officer began to speak. "Everybody, return your Pokémon and get your hands up!"

"It's not us you have to worry about! It's them! They're with Team Rocket, and they're trying to capture my Pokémon and kill me!" Lucas shouted back. "They almost killed the occupants of this house, and I barely got them out alive!"

"That doesn't matter, Lucas Parker! You're a wanted felon for mass vandalization and illegal possession of a seventh pokéball without a license. Get your hands up, NOW!" the officer shouted.

Suddenly, the Jolteon attacked. A massive burst of electricity shot out of its tail fur, and it collided with one of the police cars. The car went up in a fireball, sparks raining down upon the officers.

"Jolteon!" Rob shouted. "Do it again, but this time… well, you know what to do."

The Pokémon sent more sparks flying, and bolts of electricity rained down upon the battlefield. Two more cars were destroyed, and Lucas' Dragonite took a direct hit.

"Dragonite! No!" Lucas screamed. He rushed over to the downed dragon, peering at its body for injuries. Dragonite lay unconscious on the ground, knocked out from the force of the blast.

Lucas reached into his backpack and pulled out a potion. He remembered, years ago, when he and his friends were in the Kanto-Johto desert, they found a stash of supplies left by Team Rocket. Lucas never had the opportunity to use the rest of potions he stole until now.

He uncapped one of the potions and opened Dragonite's mouth. Slowly, the Pokémon swallowed the liquid and began to stir, but didn't open up his eyes. Lucas noticed a gash on his lower torso where the lightning hit him, and he proceeded to pour the potion on that, too. After all was said and done, he returned Dragonite to his pokéball and stood up again.

The police turned their attention to Team Rocket. Obviously, Lucas and his friends were not the threat the officers thought they were. "You three, get your hands up!" one of them shouted.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Pokémon jumped down from a tree near Lucas. It was a Meowth, and it landed with its claws extended, ready to battle with Lucas. Lucas looked at the Pokémon in bewilderment, until two figures jumped down as well.

It was Jessie and James, wearing the Team Rocket outfit they used to wear.

"You guys! What are you doing here?" Lucas asked the duo. Jack and Lily balled their fists, ready to fight with them too, but Lucas motioned them to stop. "Don't worry, they're with us. They retired after Giovanni left!" Lucas told them.

"Well, we noticed you were in a bit of a pickle, so we decided to come in for a little rocket landing and help!" James said.

"Besides," Jessie chimed in, "it's been a while since we had a good battle! We wouldn't want to miss out on all of the fun!"

"Who are you guys?" the hooded figure asked, with Rob and Becca standing near him.

"Don't you remember us, Proton?" Jessie replied. "Don't you remember when you tried to kick us out of Team Rocket? When you got into an argument with our trainer as to whether we were ready or not, and tried to get us kicked out of the program? Well, I do… and I never forgot."

"Oh, yes! Jessie and James, am I correct? Yes, I remember… no matter. You were never ready anyways, so I'll make quick work of you two," the hooded figure, now identified as Proton, stated nonchalantly.

"What the heck is going on here?!" the head officer shouted.

"Ignore them… we know them all too well. They'll just stand here and watch, it's what they always do," James said. Lucas heeded his advice, and turned his attention back to the trio of hunters.

Jessie and James whipped out a pokéball each, and deployed the Pokémon inside of them. One of them was Jessie's snake, but it had evolved into a large, cobra-like creature – Arbok, the evolution of Ekans. James' Pokémon was a Weezing, which was the evolution of his Koffing. Weezing had another face on a tumor-like part of his body, and both faces appeared sad and deformed.

"Alright, Lucas… are we ready to bring down this Jolteon?" Jessie asked.

"Heck yeah! Let's end this, once and for all!" Lucas replied. Arbok and Weezing joined the circle of Pokémon surrounding the Jolteon, and got into an attack position.

"Okay, Lucas… fighting with you instead of against you is going to be a treat for us! Whenever you're ready, we're ready," James told him.

"Right. All Pokémon…ATTACK THE JOLTEON!" Lucas yelled.

Every Pokémon charged the lone canine as fast as they could. The air was a fury of toxic smoke, fire, dust, lightning, and Psychic glowing. Explosions rocked the battlefield once more as all the Pokémon attempted to take down the agile canine, who was able to weave around each attack and move with blinding speed.

Eventually, the Jolteon was knocked back by an explosion caused by Flygon and Charizard tag-teaming against it. Mew swooped it into the air before it could recover, before slamming it back into the ground with incredible force.

Charizard finally got his hands on the Pokémon, looking into its eyes and growling. The white mist surrounding the dragon mixed with the dark-purple smoke around the Jolteon, and in a fit of rage, Charizard swung the canine over his head and crushed it against the dirt. He did this two more times before chucking it as far away as possible, a demonic screech filling the air as it flew near the police cars.

The Jolteon collided with one of the armored SWAT cars, and members of the SWAT team jumped out of the way as an electrical explosion destroyed the vehicle.

The dust eventually cleared, and Lucas could see that all of his Pokémon were battered. They were covered with dust, dirt, and ash. Flygon, Charizard, and Lugia all shook off their wings, and Jessie and James returned their Pokémon to their balls after giving them thanks.

"That was exhausting… I don't think I can battle any more… here's to hoping that Jolteon doesn't get up again," Charizard managed to get out through deep breaths. In fact, all of the Pokémon were breathing hard, perspiration pouring down their bodies.

"Agreed, but we still have to worry about the police," Lucas replied. The officers, who had just recovered from the electrical explosion, chimed in.

"Okay, Lucas, enough is enough! What exactly is going on here?" the commanding SWAT member asked him.

"These three goons are from Team Rocket! They were sent out to 'take care of me' by their boss, because I trashed the Celadon City Game Corner's basement, which was actually a Team Rocket hideout! They had captured my friends and held them there, and after a year and a half of searching for them, I finally found them. I understand that you're trying to do your job, but have a little sympathy and just realize I did it to save the only family I have left!" Lucas explained.

The officers and SWAT members looked at each other, then at Lucas, and back at each other. At the same time, the trio of hunters stared at Lucas and the officers, dumbfounded that they had lost and that Rob's Jolteon had been knocked out. After a moment, the officers nodded at Lucas and turned their attention to the hunters.

"Alright, you three! Hands up where we can see them!" the police shouted. They rushed the trio and surrounded them, giving them no room to escape, and they pulled out shock batons and handcuffs. "Don't move one inch!"

The hunters gave up. Raising their hands into the air, they gave a sigh of defeat.

"So close, yet so far… trust us, Lucas, this won't be the end! We will find you again!" the leader, now known as Proton, shouted at Lucas and his friends as police put him in handcuffs. They confiscated all of their pokéballs and returned the Jolteon, putting them in a suitcase for safekeeping. Lucas watched as the three were loaded in a second SWAT van, and they pulled out to take them away.

"You do realize that we still have to arrest you, Lucas? After all, you don't have a license and you have a seventh ball," one of the policemen told him.

"I know… when my house burnt down three years ago, my best friend here found me and saved my life," Lucas explained, pointing at Charizard. "Ever since, we've been on a non-stop journey, and I made the mistake of never going to my regional professor. That's why I don't have a license."

"I see… where did you used to live?" the officer asked.

"Right here, where this house is standing. My mother's grave is just over there," he replied, pointing to the edge of the woods. "She died in the fire."

The policeman, who Lucas actually recognized to be the Chief of Kanto Law Enforcement, turned to the other officers around him and told them to put their handcuffs away. "I remember responding to the fire with the firemen and medics. Knowing what happened now, I can't arrest him. It's not his fault he doesn't have a trainer's license, but he's more responsible for his actions than any criminal I've ever dealt with. Arresting him would be immoral. I say we just let him go," the chief told the others. They nodded after a minute, putting away their equipment.

"Wait… where did the other two members go? The ones in white?" one of the officers chimed in. "They just disappeared!"

Lucas looked around in shock. Indeed, Jessie and James had left without a trace, somehow slipping past all of the officers.

Minutes passed, and the officers eventually crammed themselves into their remaining cars and left the scene, leaving Lucas and his friends standing in the center of the clearing in silence. The house was battered but still standing, with shutters torn off, windows blown out, and holes in the walls and porch. He was glad it didn't suffer the same fate as his home once did.

Lucas' Pokémon looked at him as he stood there, contemplating their next move.

"So that was it. That was the team that Silver sent after me," Lucas finally said, not looking at the others.

"What do we do now? Silver will probably double his efforts to capture or kill you, and we can't keep running forever," Charizard asked. He was right – the more they ran, the more trouble they seemed to find themselves in. The group needed a plan, and there was only one option that made sense.

"We need to take down Team Rocket. That's our next step," Lucas said. He pulled out the map that the scientists in Sinnoh gave him, unfolding it and holding it out so all of his Pokémon and friends could see. "This large dot right here," Lucas told them, pointing at the edge of the map. "That's our next target. This point appears to be a major command post, so say we go there and take it down."

"You're insane, that's… that's just plain insane! We can't do that! There'll be too many of them, we'll never get in and out alive!" Jack cried out.

"No, not 'we'… only me. I'll go in there alone," Lucas said.

"Lucas, no! Have you gone mad?" Lugia shouted at him. Lucas stood his ground to the legendary Pokémon and glared at him in the eyes.

"No, I haven't! This is my mission, and the last thing I want is for something to happen to you guys!" Lucas shouted back. "I didn't want any of this to happen, and I certainly didn't want to drag you guys into this! I don't want to lose anyone else, not like before… I lost Jack and Lily for a year and a half, and barely managed to save my best friend here. If I go in alone, I know you all will be safe. Besides, I'll still have the element of surprise."

Lugia thought for a minute. He hated the idea of losing his trainer – after all, he searched the world for someone like Lucas for over a century and a half – but he knew Lucas had a point. This was his fight, Silver was his brother, and he wanted to protect them from Team Rocket.

"Alright… you're right, Lucas. I realize that now," Lugia resolved.

"Wait, no, you can't be serious! You're just going to agree with this on-the-spot decision? Think about it!" Lily cried out.

"Lily, Jack, please…" Lucas turned and said to his two friends. He could see the fear in their eyes. "Team Rocket captured you for a year and a half. I highly doubt that the next time they capture you they'll treat you like royalty. And the last thing I want to do is worry about losing anybody here again."

Jack and Lily looked at Lucas, then Charizard and Lugia, and back at Lucas. They sighed and nodded their heads.

"Okay. We understand," Jack said.

Lucas started packing up his things. Giving thanks to his Pokémon for their hard work, he returned them to their respective pokéballs. Jack returned his Shelgon to its ball and clipped it to his belt. Before long, only Charizard, Jack, Lily, and Lucas stood in the clearing.

"I say we get started now. This way," Lucas said as he pointed to the south. The group began to walk with expressionless faces, and Charizard looked at Lucas before gazing into the forest ahead.

Lucas looked at his mother's grave one more time. A single ray of sunlight shone on it, illuminating the charred words. _Wish me luck, mom, _he thought before looking away.

The gang disappeared into the forest, leaving the battered clearing and heading towards a new fate.

Chapter 19: Plans Always Change

The group walked in silence for what felt like an eternity. The forest expanded for miles, and nothing but trees surrounded them for what felt like forever. Eventually, as the forest started to clear out, and a town came into view. It was small, and the only buildings were log cabins and shacks.

Upon further examination, the trio realized that the town had been abandoned. Vines stretched around dilapidated, brown cabins that were barely standing. Log cabins were rotting away, leaving wood chips around their weed-covered foundations. Lucas started to look inside of the houses, noticing that there was no furniture inside except for a few old, wooden chairs that were scattered around the floor. Every shack seemed to only have wooden chairs, strangely.

Before long, the group heard talking coming from one of the shacks. It was faint but distinct, and the voice was deep. Jack, Lily, Lucas, and Charizard all crept towards the sounds, which they then discerned as a conversation.

"What are we doing? This is a waste of time, it's probably just some junkies trading potions and berries," Lily said.

"No, wait… it sounds like they're talking about Team Rocket," Lucas replied. "Shh."

They made it to the shack where the sounds were coming from and crouched beneath a window, listening intently. What they heard shocked them.

"… got captured by the police, which means Silver's not too happy. He'll probably send out another squad or two, but I don't think it'll do much good," one of them said.

"Are you joking? I can understand taking down one squad, but two at the same time? He must be really stupid if he fights all of that," another replied.

"Don't be so sure," the first one said. "He managed to take down the most well-trained search squad that Team Rocket has. Those blokes were pretty much Silver's third in command, after Greygar in second."

"And what will Silver do? He can't stay in the same place for long. That fortress can't hold him forever, and it'll probably be Lucas' next target," the second one asked.

'We don't have to worry about that. Silver's already gone, he left for Mount Moon right after the news broke that the Game Corner got taken out, and he moved all of the supplies with him," the deep-voiced goon replied. "Come on, let's get out of here. This old town is giving me the creeps, and I feel like I'm being watched."

"Agreed," the second one replied. They both started to walk towards the entrance, and Lucas and the others ducked behind the side wall of the rotting cabin. The goons walked out and turned towards them, but didn't see them behind the wall as they walked past. When they were out of sight a few minutes later, the trio calmed down.

"So, Silver is at Mount Moon… well, I guess we aren't going to the fortress anymore," Lucas remarked.

"I guess not. How far away is Mount Moon?" Jack asked. Lucas pulled out his map and read it closely. The mountain stood tall in the center of northern Kanto.

"Strange… I thought Mount Moon was actually in Johto. Never mind, then. It's here in Kanto – central-northern Kanto, to be exact. We're somewhere in Northwestern Kanto right now, so we're not too far away," Lucas replied.

"Great! But what will we do when we get there?" Lily chimed in.

"I don't know. The place will be flooded with goons, so we'll have to watch out… I still think it would be best if I went up there without you guys. I'll be stealthier and won't have to worry about you guys getting captured," Lucas replied after a moment. Jack and Lily sighed and nodded their heads in half-hearted consent, not wanting their friend to go alone but knowing that they had no choice.

"I say we start heading up there now. We have nothing else better to do," Lucas said. "The sooner we put an end to Team Rocket, the sooner we can sleep better at night." He looked at the map and then looked at the compass on his Pokédex, before turning east and beginning to walk.

The others followed in silence. Hours passed, and before they knew it, the sun began to set. However, they never stopped to set up camp for the night, but instead kept on walking. The sky turned from blue to brilliant shades of orange and purple, before finally fading to black. Lucas looked up at the sky and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of glimmering stars, and the Milky Way darted across the sky just as it had earlier.

Eventually, they made it to a clearing. Knee-high grass blew gently in the wind, creating a soft rustling sound. There were no wild Pokémon around – they were either sleeping or hiding.

The clearing was extremely large – the trees on the other side were very far away, and they could see the mountain on the distant horizon. A few trees dotted the field, however most of them were small, and the movement of the grass made it seem as if they were standing in an ocean. Lucas began to walk into the clearing, and the others followed suit.

"This place is beautiful," Lily remarked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it is. It almost reminds me of the hill we climbed when we went searching for Lugia, remember?" Lucas replied.

"Yeah… those were peaceful times. Don't you wish you could just go back to that for a day? No running or hiding, no worries about Team Rocket…" Jack said.

After a moment of more silence, Lucas spoke again. "Charzy, do you remember when you and I were flying around the Orange Islands?" he asked.

"Of course, I do! I remember that as clear as day," Charizard replied. "I remember the storm in the distance, and the endless ocean we saw."

"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Jack asked.

"Oh… when I went to the Orange Islands and I was climbing the mountain to get to Lugia, Charizard popped out of his pokéball and let me fly on his back with him. We could see for many, many miles… there were storms, mountains in the distance, and glimmering water as far as the eye could see. It was really beautiful, and I could see why Lugia stayed up there," Lucas replied. "I'm surprised you didn't see us!"

"We decided to go eat lunch at a restaurant, and we didn't see the islands from the building!" Lily laughed. "That sounds really cool. Wish I could have been there."

Lucas stared off into the sea of grass. "I wish you guys were, too. It was magnificent," he said.

Lugia suddenly broke out of his Premier Ball and floated down next to Lucas, illuminating the grass around him for a split second. "I heard my name a few times?" the beast asked.

Lucas and the others laughed before responding. "We were just talking about when I was on a journey to find you. Do you still remember?" Lucas replied.

"Yes, I do indeed. I especially remember the look of fear on your face when I turned around to see you," Lugia chuckled. Jack and Lily started giggling, and Charizard had to cover his mouth to prevent himself from joining them.

"Hey, if you guys were standing in front of the Guardian of the Sea for the first time, I'm pretty sure you'd feel nervous too!" Lucas laughed. The others agreed with him and started to laugh as well.

The sounds of their laughter echoed throughout the clearing, filling the air with a sense of joy, and for a brief time, drowning out the feeling of dread at the impossible mission before them.

Chapter 20: Through the Night's Silence

Deep in the prairie, there was a small clearing with a long-extinguished, degraded campfire. There were no logs to sit on, and no sign of any structures nearby, so the group concluded that there must have been a traveler long before them. Ash littered the surrounding ground, and the remains of charred wood were scattered throughout the interior of the fire pit.

"This seems like a good place to rest," Lucas told them.

"Agreed. I don't think anybody will come out this far, save for the travelers who built this fire, and they're long gone too," Lily replied.

"Good. Let's set up camp and crash," Jack said. "After the past few hours, I think we all need it."

Lucas helped Jack and Lily to set up camp and secure their items, while Lugia crept to a nearby stream to get a drink. Charizard sat down and curled his tail around him so he could hold it, careful to not start any wildfires.

After a while, Lucas sat down and looked at Mount Moon in the distance. He could see a faint light on the peak of the mountain, and it wasn't moving at all. He figured that his brother was up there right now, dreaming up plans on how to get rid of him.

He eventually grew tired and laid down in the soft, trampled grass. It felt comfortable and soft against his arms and head, and without any thoughts to send him off, he quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.

ʘ

Lucas awoke to the sound of talking somewhere behind him. He was careful not to make a sound or move, as he didn't want to wake up the others, so he laid with his eyes open and his ears sharply listening.

After a few seconds, he realized it was the sound of Lugia and Charizard talking by the edge of the clearing behind him. The white mist that surrounded Charizard illuminated the grass near him, just enough to let Lucas guess where they were. They were speaking in a hushed voice, and Lucas had to strain to hear what they were saying.

"Do you remember what happened?" Lugia asked. "While you were… you know… under their control?"

"Yeah…" Charizard replied. Lucas could sense the strain in his voice as he spoke. "I remember everything."

"What was it like? What did you feel?" Lugia pressed.

"Well, at first, it was painful. It felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest, and it was extremely cold. And then, I just…deteriorated. I couldn't think straight, and I just lost all control. It's like I could register what I was doing, but I couldn't change it," Charizard explained.

"So, you knew what you were doing, but couldn't stop yourself from doing it? Like, you were some sort of an observer in your own head?" Lugia asked.

"Yeah. That's exactly how it felt. When I killed Lucas… I was screaming at myself to stop, but I couldn't. It was as if the words I said were being forced out of my mouth," he replied.

"How did you break out of it?" Lugia pressed again.

"I don't know. When Lucas came back from that hole in the wall, my immediate action was to pin him to the ground. And then he started talking to me… I'm sure you heard everything he said. When he told me to remember the time we met in the forest, I just broke down on the inside. At that point, I stopped struggling against the effects of that ball, and somehow, I guess that emotional shock was enough to set me free.

"That's why I started crying when I was finally out of it. I cried because of how powerful Lucas' words were, and how much meaning they had. Those memories were the things that saved me, and coming from him, they were more powerful than anything I could ever imagine," Charizard finished.

"I'm so sorry," Lugia said after a short pause.

"Don't worry about it. If anybody should be sorry, it's me. I killed my best friend, and it was only through a miracle that he was able to come back," the dragon said.

Lucas smiled, but struggled not to make a sound.

"I'm scared, Lugia. If he goes up that mountain alone, there's no guarantee he'll come back. I don't want to lose him again," Charizard spoke.

Lucas' smile faltered, and the words hit him like a ton of bricks. Charizard was right – Lucas had failed to think about what impact his actions would have on his friends if he didn't return.

"I don't think he's truly going alone, Charizard. How could he? I think he means 'alone' by him not taking Jack, Lily, and the rest of his Pokémon other than you. Besides, how would he be able to fight? Silver's definitely not going to surrender without retaliation, don't you think so?" Lugia reasoned.

"I - I think you're right. I hope you are, at least. I'd rather go up and fight with him, rather than lose him in there and never get to say goodbye," Charizard said.

Lucas thought about what Lugia had just said. The legendary beast was right – Lucas couldn't go without Charizard, and he had subconsciously struggled over this fact. What if Charizard didn't make it out, but he did? Or what if Lucas died while Charizard was right by him? And what if neither of them came out, and the rest of his Pokémon and his friends would be left to fend for themselves against the rest of the organization?

These questions had haunted him ever since they left the ghost town, but now that he was hearing the Guardian of the Seas speak what was on his mind for hours, he made a decision: Charizard was going with him. They started an adventure together, and they'd finish it together, too.

Lucas, now resolved, closed his eyes. He heard shuffling, and after a moment, Charizard laid down next to Lucas. The swirling white mist around him was surprisingly warm and comfortable, and Lucas had no trouble breathing in it. He heard the dragon breath a large sigh of fatigue, before holding Lucas a bit tighter and falling still.

After Lucas was sure Charizard was asleep, he grabbed the clawed hand of the dragon.

"I'm not leaving you behind, buddy. You can count on that," Lucas whispered to the dragon. "I promise."

Chapter 21: The Base of the Mountain

Morning came with a thick fog, enveloping the group in a haze. Lucas' eyes fluttered open to the sound of Charizard walking near him. When he sat up, he couldn't see ten feet in front of his face, and the small clearing with the fire pit was shrouded in a glowing cloud. Charizard's purified mist and tail flame shone through the still-dark morning fog, illuminating the ground and encompassing him in a halo of light.

Lucas got to his feet and walked over to his friend, who was now standing at the edge of the clearing. A cool breeze blew above the wild grass, and the only sound that was heard was the wind blowing in his ear. Overall, the scene was extremely peaceful and quiet.

"Today's the day we reach the mountain, pal." Lucas said.

"Yeah… what will you do when you get up there?" Charizard asked. Lucas could hear the strain in his voice when he asked that question, clearly unaware that Lucas had heard everything between him and Lugia last night. He was trying – and failing – to keep his fear under wraps.

"Well, bud, I've been thinking…" Lucas said. Charizard's head turned to face him. "I want you to come with me to the top of the mountain. I don't think I'll be able to do it alone after all. Besides, after every adventure we've had together, it's only fitting that we stand together now as well.

"You're my best friend, and I'm not leaving you. The more I think about it, the more I realize that if I don't come back… you'll be alone. I was so concerned about keeping you guys safe; I didn't consider the fact that you guys would be broken if I didn't return – especially you. I don't want you to feel the same way I did when I lost my mother, because nobody should have to experience that."

Charizard's eyes seemed to brighten. "Really?" he asked in apprehension.

"Of course! It's only fair that you come with me. After everything you've done for me, it's time I repay you," Lucas assured him.

"Thank you!" the dragon beamed. Lucas reached up and patted him on his shoulder without saying a word.

Not long after, the sun began to shine over the horizon, and the duo woke up the others. They each sat up groggily, rubbing their eyes and stretching. Lugia had fallen asleep by the stream, and began to stir as well.

They all ate a simple breakfast of berries and water, and when they were done, they silently packed up their belongings. Lucas looked around to figure out where the mountain was on the horizon, but something was off…

"The mountain's shrouded!" Jack cried out. Indeed, the mountain had seemingly disappeared in a thick fog that hung around the field. The trees at the far end of the field were enveloped in a mist that stretched high in the sky, and even the peak of the mountain was covered in a white glow. Strangely, there was no fog in the clearing, as Charizard's mist surrounding him permeated the atmosphere with ease.

"How will we find it?" Lily asked after several minutes of the group just staring out at the tree-line. Lucas looked at Charizard, then back at the fog, and then remembered. He turned to face the dragon.

"Charizard… do you know what I'm going to ask?" Lucas joked with him.

"No, what is it?" the dragon replied, still peering at the horizon. He looked at Lucas when he didn't respond, only to see that Lucas had a sly grin on his face. The dragon smiled back after the realization hit him, returning the sly expression and speaking before Lucas could. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"You sure are," Lucas replied. Both of them chuckled, and Jack and Lily peered at them.

"Oh no. No, no, no. No risky stuff, not before we get there!" Lily told them after realizing what they were up to. However, it was too late.

Charizard had already begun sprinting alongside Lucas through the grass, and just as Charizard started flapping his wings, Lucas jumped on his back and crouched down towards his neck.

"WOOOHOOOO!" Lucas screamed while laughing. Charizard was laughing with him, and they were both enjoying the wind in their faces and the adrenaline of flight. They climbed higher and higher, until the fog was below them and Lucas could run his hand through it.

"There's the mountain!" Lucas yelled over the howling wind.

"I see it!" Charizard roared back. "It's gorgeous up here!"

"You said it!" Lucas replied. The fog spread over the entire landscape, covering every tree for as far away as they could see. Even Mount Moon had a think fog covering the base of it, making it the only feature that towered over the world. For a moment, Lucas thought that he was high above the clouds – there were no clouds in the sky above him, making it an endless sea of blue, and the view was too spectacular to be true. He had to remind himself that he was only a few hundred feet above the trees, not miles in the sky.

"Let's go back to the others. We should get a move-on!" Lucas shouted.

"Alright!" Charizard replied. He swung around towards the clearing, which was now the only part of the land that wasn't smothered in fog.

When the duo landed, Lucas hopped off of Charizard's back and ran over to the others. Lugia was waiting for him, along with Jack and Lily.

"Well? Any luck?" Lugia asked.

"Yep! The mountain is that way!" Lucas said, pointing with his finger to the east.

"Alright. Let's go!" Lily chimed in.

"Wait… Lugia, you wouldn't mind giving them a lift, would you? It would make the trip quicker," Lucas asked.

"I was just about to suggest that. Good call," Lugia responded.

"Wait, what?" Jack asked.

"Have you ever flown on the back of a Pokémon?" Lucas asked him.

"No, I haven't. And no, I won't do it. The last thing I need right now is to fall off," he replied with a stern tone.

"Jack, all you have to do is hold on to the base of their neck! Besides, it's not like you're flying upside-down!" Lucas laughed. "Give it a try. It'll be fun, trust me! Besides, you wouldn't want to miss the views from up there, and Lily is already on!"

Indeed, Lugia had already helped Lily get onto his back, and she was holding on to the blue flaps that were on his back. She was motioning for Jack to step forward, which he reluctantly did.

Lugia picked him up with his giant hand-wing, and plopped Jack on his back. "Don't worry about a thing, pal. When I fly, I prefer to stay in a straight path, so don't even think about falling off," he said. Jack nodded his head, still nervous but trusting the legendary beast to take care of him.

"Alright! Are we ready?" Lucas asked them.

"I think we are!" Lugia boomed.

"Well then… let's go!" Lucas cried. He ran up to Charizard, who bent down and spread his wings. As Lucas jumped onto his back and clung on, the dragon shot into the sky with a single thrust of his body. Lugia joined them in the air a moment later, with Lily laughing and Jack yelling in fright. Lucas saw this, and couldn't help himself from bursting with laughter at the sight of his polar-opposite friends.

Eventually, Jack got used to the sensation of flying, and started to enjoy himself. "This is amazing!" he shouted to Lucas, who was flying right beside Lugia.

"I know! I told you it would be fun! And hey, think of it this way… your first time flying on a Pokémon is with Lugia! That's awesome when you think about it!" Lucas yelled back.

"Heck yeah!" Jack cried back. Lugia started chuckling over the howling wind, and Charizard did as well.

Mount Moon was still miles in the distance, but the trip was made short by the speed the group was travelling. It gradually grew bigger on the horizon, and as they neared it, the fog began to dissipate. Soon, they could see the tops of the trees, rivers, and cliffs as far as the eye could see. Lugia gradually decreased his altitude, and Charizard did the same.

"We're going so fast!" Lily shouted. Indeed, both dragons were flying at speeds nearing 150 miles per hour, which was made obvious by the trees rushing past them. "We'll make it there in no time!"

"Let's hope so!" Lucas cried back.

ʘ

The group made it to the mountain's base about an hour later. Lugia landed at the bottom of a cliff that stretched high into the sky, which was only a portion of the mountain. Charizard proceeded to follow him, and when he landed, Lucas hopped off and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Well, how was it?" Lucas asked Jack and Lily as Lugia helped them jump down.

"That was incredible!" they both said at the same time. Lucas chuckled and grinned from ear to ear.

"I knew you guys would like it. We just saved ourselves days of walking," he replied. Soon, however, his face took on a solemn expression. "But this is it, isn't it? This is where I stop Silver."

"Yes, it is," Lugia replied. "Remember, you're not alone… yes, I heard you and Charizard this morning, and I knew you were listening to us last night. It pays to be psychic." Lucas laughed at this.

"Very clever, Lugia," he said sarcastically. "Jack, Lily… you guys stay safe, alright? I don't know when I'll be back."

"Just promise us one thing," Lily said.

"Yeah?" Lucas replied.

"Promise us that no matter what happens, this will be over soon. Promise us that when you do come back, things will be like they were before… when we went on adventures in the wild without fearing for our lives, and the world was a happier place. Please," she asked.

"I promise… here. I have this for you guys," Lucas said. He reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a small, blue, glowing object. It was the Water Gem.

"You still have that?" Lugia asked him. "I figured that you'd have gotten rid of it by now!"

"No, I never got rid of it. I kept it as a good luck charm, and a token of all our friendships. It means a lot to me," Lucas replied. He turned back to Jack and Lily. "I want you guys to keep this for me. If anything happens to us up there… I want you to have it. It's not a promise, but it's the closest thing to it."

"Thank you, Lucas. Really," Jack said, holding the gem in his palms. Its soft glow illuminated the palm of his hands. Both of Lucas' friends came in for a group hug, and they held that embrace for a solid minute before breaking apart. When it finally ended, Lucas could see that his two friends had tears running down their cheeks. He set his sash of pokéballs down, and his bookbag too.

"Charizard, are you ready?" Lucas said nervously after a minute.

"I'm ready, pal," Charizard responded. The resolve in his voice gave Lucas a boost of confidence, and he crossed his eyes in determination.

"Lugia, take care of them, alright?" Lucas asked.

"Don't worry about us. Stay safe, old friend," the beast replied.

"Alright… let's go!" Lucas yelled. He jumped on Charizard's back, and just like before, he thrust his body into the sky and rocketed upwards at a blinding pace.

_I'm coming for you, Silver, _he thought to himself. _And I'm doing this for my family… both old and new._

Chapter 22: The Last Resort

Lucas and Charizard had to stop flying upwards when they saw Team Rocket grunts on the top of the mountain. They were scanning the landscape and looking for danger – obviously watchmen. The two climbers found a cliffside and rested for a bit, before looking around and deciding what their next move should be.

"How will we get past them?" Charizard asked. "If they see us, then Silver will know, and we'll be screwed."

"Don't worry… I have a plan just for that," Lucas replied. "We'll sneak behind them… see how they're also on the edge of a cliff? If we sneak up the ledge on the side of them, and we're quiet enough, we can make it past."

"Good idea. Let's try it," the dragon responded. Lucas mounted Charizard again, and they gently flew up while watching for trouble. When they made it to a spot where they could scale the side of the cliff (conveniently, there was a short ledge about a few meters behind the grunts that the duo could peer over), they landed and put their plan into action.

Charizard hoisted Lucas up with his clawed hands, and Lucas quietly stepped onto the overhanging cliff. Charizard followed him, although it was extremely difficult for him to remain quiet. Lucas grabbed a rock and readied his arm, preparing to throw it.

Charizard was vigorously shaking his head, urging him to stop, but Lucas continued anyways.

"Trust me," Lucas whispered softly. He threw the large stone down the cliff face, in the direction of the guards so they would look down.

"What's that?" one of the guards abruptly said as the rock bounced down the face of the mountain. The force of the rock hitting the other rocks around it caused more to fall, and the sound they produced offered Charizard a chance to climb up.

With the guards distracted, Lucas and Charizard got the chance to sneak towards the door. There must have been dozens of rocks falling, because the noises didn't stop coming from the mountainside and the guards were intently searching for any signs of intruders. The duo snuck through a metal door using Greygar's ID card, and just before the door shut, the noises stopped.

The sound of the metal door slamming shut alarmed the watchmen to Lucas' presence, and they rushed towards the door. Using all the strength the two could muster, they kept the guards from opening the door, and eventually Lucas was able to slide a locking bar through slits on the inside of the door.

Through the metal, Lucas could hear the guards frantically calling for Silver on walkie-talkies. "Silver! Boss, come in, over!" one of them shouted. The walkie-talkie clicked on, and Lucas heard his brother's voice for the first time.

"What is it?" Silver replied. "What's the matter up there, over?"

"Silver, we have an intruder! Someone just caused a disturbance on the mountainside to get behind us and get in the door. They're inside right now, activate the security cameras, over!" the goons yelled.

"You idiots! I told you to keep an eye ALL AROUND YOU! Not just IN FRONT OF YOU!" the brother yelled. "Never mind… there are 516 of us in this complex, if he thinks he can take us down, he has another thing coming, over."

The security cameras near Lucas and Charizard came on and pointed at them simultaneously. Red lights blinked on and off, obviously transmitting to Silver.

"God dang it, it's Lucas! Get all available personnel to the main entrance area immediately. He's coming for me, over!" Silver yelled again, this time in a frantic tone.

"Yes sir!" the goons responded. Lucas and Charizard looked at each other before looking at the cameras. As soon as they realized that Silver was intently watching their every move, Charizard smashed the cameras with his fists and ripped them out of the wall.

Looking around, Lucas noticed that they were in a hallway, with no doors.

"Follow me! We have to get to the end of this hallway before more grunts show up!" he told his friend. They started to run down the long metal hallway, but it was a lot longer than it looked, and it took about a solid minute of running to reach the other side. Just as they made it to the door, the walls behind them started to move.

Flush elevator doors opened along each wall, and dozens of Team Rocket grunts poured out of them. They instantly saw Lucas and started sprinting down the hallway, with their footsteps getting louder and louder as they grew closer. Lucas struggled to get the door open.

"It won't budge! I can't get through!" Lucas shouted. The goons were getting closer by the second.

"I've got this, hold on!" Charizard roared. The dragon balled his fists and started pounding on the door. Dents grew deeper and deeper as perspiration poured down his snout. "Almost… there…" he huffed. Before long, the door buckled and broke down with a deafening slam. It led to another hallway, although this one was shorter.

"Come on, pal, run!" Lucas shouted. His friend started to run behind him, and the grunts followed them closely.

A third metal door stood ahead of them, but it seemed less complex and tough. Charizard was going to slam into the door, but Lucas stopped him.

"Wait! Let me try something!" he shouted. There was a keyhole that Lucas could peer through, and he saw light coming through it. Usually, if there was a sliding lock as there had previously been, the light would have been blocked.

He tried the door, and it opened with ease. Charizard and Lucas slipped through it and shut it behind them with a loud, echoing clang. He slid the slider through the bars, and just as the lock passed the final bar, multiple thuds impacted the opposite side.

"That was close…" Lucas said.

"Yeah… how did you know it was unlocked?" Charizard asked, out of breath.

"There was light coming through the keyhole. If the sliding lock was in place, there'd be no light, because it would be blocked," Lucas briefly explained.

"You're a genius, you know? You never cease to amaze me, old friend," the dragon replied with a half-chuckle.

"Thanks… where are we now?" Lucas asked. They were in a large room with multiple doors, and catwalks stretched across the ceiling. There were platforms leading to different levels, and hazmat suits lining the walls. In the center of the room was a giant, clear vat of purple gas.

"That's… that's R. This is where Silver keeps it all. This facility was obviously here before he came along, because there's no way he could have built it this fast… even with the number of followers he has," Lucas said.

"My god… how big is this place?" Charizard asked.

"It's built in the bowels of a mountain. If I had to take a guess, it's pretty big," Lucas replied. "If I was Silver, where would put my lair…"

"This might help," the dragon responded, pointing to a map on the wall.

Lucas walked over to the map, which was a diagram of the entire facility. The complex was built in a perfect circle, roughly following the shape of the mountain's circumference. Lucas and Charizard were only a portion of the way inside, and the core of the complex was marked with a red dot – obviously, this was where Silver was. The duo still had a while to go before they made it to the center.

"There's no way we can memorize this. Should we take it?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Charizard replied. Lucas ripped the map off of the wall and looked at it. After a moment, he pointed to a door to his right.

"We need to go that way, and then take a left. After that, it's a straight shot, but we might have to take detours if there are goons in the way," Lucas explained.

"Got it. Let's go!" the dragon said. They both ran through the adjacent door and continued on their path.

ʘ

It felt like hours before they made it to the three-quarters mark of their journey into the mountain, although it was much shorter in reality.

"How close are we?" Charizard asked.

"Pretty close… wait, stop! Shh!" Lucas replied with a jolt.

"What is it?" Charizard asked again.

"I hear them…" Lucas said. Indeed, somewhere close by in the complex, a group of Team Rocket grunts were searching for them and talking amongst themselves.

The duo tip-toed forward, careful not to make a sound. The farther they went, the more distant the voices became. Lucas was surprised that they had not encountered a single person in the whole complex, however he had to remind himself that this entire building was inside of a massive mountain. 516 people could easily be spread far and wide, and there were too many places for them to look.

When Lucas said that they were in the clear, they continued on their path.

"We're getting close," Lucas whispered. "After this door, it's just a series of straight hallways, with five barricades in between. Then, we'll make it to Silver's lair, and whatever happens will happen."

"Right," Charizard responded. He flapped his wings to relieve some of his stress.

Finally, Lucas and Charizard made it to the long hallway with barricades. However, contrary to Lucas' fears, all of them were open. At the distant end of the stretch, a single metal door lay with a flashing red light, and a window cast a beam of light into the corridor.

The intercom came on, however, and Silver's voice came on.

"They're in security hallway number five! All forces, converge on that area and down the barricades!" he shouted in a crackling voice. Flashing red lights and a siren came on. Lucas noticed that there was a camera above the door they just came through, so he jumped up and ripped it out of the wall before smashing the lens with his fist.

"That should take care of it. Come on, run for it!" Lucas shouted. Thick steel barricades started coming down from the ceiling, but they were incredibly slow. Lucas and Charizard sprinted for the door.

Just when they thought they were going to make it, the final barricade sped up and slammed shut just in front of them. Now, they were trapped between two barricades. Lucas noticed doors on each side of the closed room, each one similar to the ones at the entrance of the facility.

"Charizard, get the other door, quick! I've got this one!" Lucas shouted. They each rushed over to the doors and slid the locks into place.

The intercom came on again, this time louder and angrier than before.

"Whose dumb idea was it to put locks on the INSIDE OF THE DOORS?! Get an armored squad in here, and cut through them NOW!" Silver screamed.

"Crap! We have to figure something out!" Lucas yelled. He ran over to the barricade and looked around for a switch on the wall. Feeling around, he felt an indentation in the metal that had a different texture than the surrounding area.

He heard loud screeching sounds coming from the opposite sides of the doors, and yelling could be heard over them. Pretty soon, the screeching was accompanied by banging, which Lucas could only assume was the squad ramming into the doors.

"Charizard, rip this panel out of the wall!" Lucas yelled. Charizard ran over and attempted to grab the panel and tear it apart, but it was too flush. When that didn't work, he shot out a bright flame, lit his hand on fire, and gave the wall a powerful punch that echoed throughout the entire room.

The panel bent back on itself, and Lucas was able to grab the corners and rip it away. Sure enough, there were exposed wires and switches. As soon as Lucas was about to start tearing wires apart, he saw a small switch marked "Override Breach Barricade #5."

Lucas pulled the switch down and the wall groaned to life, moving upwards at a slow pace. He crawled underneath it and motioned for Charizard to do the same, but the dragon stayed behind.

"What are you doing?! Let's go!" Lucas screamed. He didn't like where this was going.

"Wait for it!" the dragon yelled. The doors that the guards were pushing through had red-hot marks surrounding the borders – they were almost through.

As soon as the thick barricade was halfway up, Charizard surprised Lucas with a stunning show of speed and precision. He reached his hands into the panel and started tearing away at wires, biting them and ripping them apart, before scorching the machinery with a blue-hot inferno. The guards finally broke down the doors, and rushed the dragon.

Just as the door was about to slam shut, Charizard streaked underneath the opening at blinding speed. As the barricade fell down upon the spot he once was, he landed and rolled to a stop. His tail was caught up in flames, which was a mark of his adrenaline pumping throughout his body.

"That was incredible! Holy crap, you barely made it!" Lucas cried.

"Thanks!" Charizard said. "See, aren't you happy I came with you?"

"More than you know, old friend. I don't know what I would do without you," Lucas replied, patting the orange dragon on his shoulder.

After a moment of catching their breath, the duo looked at the door and back at each other.

"This is it. Behind this door is your brother. Once we go in there, anything can happen. Are you ready?" Charizard asked.

"I'm ready, pal," Lucas said. He got up and walked to the door, but didn't peer through the window. "Are you?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Charizard responded, his tail burning bright and his eyes alive with a passionate fire.

"Well, then… let's do this," Lucas said, determination seeping from his voice. Charizard stepped forward and readied himself, before giving the door an almighty kick that shook Lucas' soul. It flew open, and Lucas rushed inside, with Charizard in tow.

Chapter 23: Parker

Lucas barged into the room, with Charizard in tow. The dragon jumped in front of Lucas as he shut the door behind him and locked it, before turning around and facing forward towards the center of the room.

Silver was sitting in a large, lavish, rotating chair, facing an entire wall of multiple security cameras. He was intently watching the cameras, and failed to notice that his brother had entered the room directly behind him.

"Time's up, Silver!" Lucas yelled. Silver spun around in his chair abruptly, eyes wide and in shock. This was the first time Lucas had seen his brother, and he was amazed to see that he had red hair and black eyes.

Charizard glared at the man across the room with hatred, his nostrils smoking and his tail glowing brighter than before.

"How did you get in?! I've had enough of this!" Silver yelled, standing up from his chair. He attempted to pull out a pokéball and throw it, but Lucas managed to dive and snag it in midair before it touched the ground.

Lucas could immediately tell that things weren't going to go as he planned.

"Silver, stop and listen to me!" Lucas shouted, rolling the pokéball to the side gently. "I just want to talk!"

"I won't talk with you, brother!" the man screamed back. "You destroyed my father's organization and tainted his name! I vowed to not lose like he did, and my priority was getting rid of the person who caused him to fall in the first place – you! I won't let you stop me!"

"Silver, that's not true! Could you just listen to me?

"No! I won't!" he screamed back. He sat down and pressed a button on the arm of his chair.

"All available units, get to-" he said, but that was as far as he got. Charizard had suddenly darted to the chair, thrown Silver out of it in front of Lucas, and ripped the chair out of the ground. The destruction of the chair effectively cut all communication off.

"Silver, please! If you'd just talk with me, we can work this out. I don't want to fight you!" Lucas tried again. "Just give me a chance to explain."

Silver sat up from the ground, seething in rage. "Why should I listen to you?" he asked.

"Because I'm your brother, Silver. If there's no other reason, it should be the fact that I'm your brother," Lucas pleaded with him.

"Fine…" Silver replied.

"Listen, Silver… I don't know you. Mom and dad never told me about you, other than the fact that you were 18 when you left home. Do you even know how our family is doing, other than our father?" Lucas asked.

"…No," Silver responded.

"Mom's dead. She's been dead for three years, but you wouldn't know that. You were too busy supporting Team Rocket to know that she's gone," Lucas solemnly told him.

"What? No, that can't be true! It can't be! What did you do to her?!" Silver yelled back.

"Nothing. There was a house fire, and she was in the shower. I vividly remember trying to barge past her bedroom door to get her out, but I wasn't strong enough. I had no choice but to get out of the house without her.

"And you know what? If dad had been there, then he could have saved her. I'm sure you're not familiar with the story of how dad abandoned us, right?" Lucas asked his brother, who was still on the ground.

"No, I'm not…" Silver replied.

"Yeah. Giovanni left us when I was ten… about 14 years after you left. He just walked out after a fight one day, and I didn't see him until I found him in Viridian City while asking for trainer tips. He lied to us, Silver. He never loved us – his only goal, for years on end, was to create a selfish organization that you control now.

"Because dad left, our family is destroyed. You and I are the last ones left in our blood, Silver," Lucas finished.

"I… I never knew… so even when I was a kid, he never really cared?" Silver asked him.

"I don't know about that. He might have cared for you, but he certainly never cared after I came along. Every memory I've had with him turned out to be nothing more than a lie," Lucas said.

Silver stood up, his legs wobbling.

"Dad wasn't there when we needed him most, and because of that, our family is gone, Silver," Lucas told him, solidifying the information in his brother's brain.

"And what about Team Rocket?" Silver asked.

"Dad left when I was ten so he could create the team. Don't you understand? He abandoned us all so he could steal from other people! Do you really want to follow in those footsteps?"

"I… don't know. I only knew that my father built this organization from the ground up, and he left it to me. I didn't ask questions, I just supported it. And when you came along and threatened to jeopardize everything, I just… lost it," Silver said.

"You've been blinded, brother. You haven't seen our dad in about two decades, and he still managed to infect you with his greed and selfishness. There's always a way out," Lucas explained.

"But what about everything here? What about every stash I have in every region?" Silver said very quickly. "I don't want to give any of that up, not after everything I've done for this team!"

"Silver, listen to me! You're running a CRIMINAL EMPIRE! You tried to kill my friends and I, and furthermore, you separated us for over a year and a half!" Lucas shouted. "If our mother was here right now, what do you think she'd say to you? Do you think she'd be happy that you're ruining the lives of hundreds of people, especially your own family members? Or do you think that she'd be disappointed in you? You need to give this up, brother. For the sake of our family.

"I know we don't really know each other. I understand that this is the first time we've met, and I know that it's hard for an almost 35-or-so-year-old man to accept the facts coming from a 16-year-old boy. But just take what I'm saying to heart, and get rid of this lifestyle," Lucas ended on. He waited in silence for an answer.

Charizard stood behind Lucas, and peered over at the man across the room. His breathing had settled, and he was no longer angry, but he was still on point.

"You're right. I can't believe what I've done!" Silver exclaimed. Lucas could see tears streaming down his cheeks, and regret filled every ounce of his voice. He knew that his brother could see what he had done. "I betrayed everyone! How can you find it in you to stand in front of me and forgive me, after all that I did to hold you back?"

"Because we're brothers… just like Jack, Lily, and Charizard here are my new family, you're still my family too. Nothing can get rid of that. Even though this is the first time we've met, there's still something keeping us together. I think that's why you let me talk to you," Lucas said. He walked up to his brother, who was kneeling on the ground. "Come with us, Silver. Start a new life with us."

"What will happen out there? Where will we go?" Silver asked.

"Anywhere the world takes us. Would you rather stay here and ruin your reputation, or live life on the road with us and become a better person?" Lucas asked. Silver bowed his head in thought, obviously conflicted.

Charizard walked up to the man that had made an attempt on his life, and instead of glaring at him, outstretched a hand. Silver looked up at the dragon as Charizard tried to speak to him, but all he could hear was "Char" coming out.

"What's he saying?" Silver asked Lucas.

"He's telling you to come with us. He forgives you, just like I have," Lucas replied. Silver smiled, looked into the dragon's eyes, and reached up to grab the clawed hand. Charizard pulled the man to his feet and nodded.

Lucas and Silver, after locking eyes for a moment, came in for a hug. "I'm so, so sorry," Silver said in a solemn tone.

"It's alright," Lucas replied. After they broke apart, Silver walked back to the chair which was laying on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked.

"Hang on… there's one more thing I have to take care of," Silver responded. He grabbed the chair, hoisted it up, and pressed the intercom button. Charizard began to growl and walk forwards, but Lucas stopped him.

"All units, this is Silver," Silver said into the intercom. "Due to your inability to contain the situation, I have been forced to scuttle the entire complex. Because of this, Team Rocket has fallen and we have failed. Many of you will consider this to be overkill… it is. I would suggest evacuating immediately before you are crushed in the rubble."

Silver pressed a few more buttons, and a keypad popped up. He entered in a four-digit code, and paused before pressing a large, red button that was at the base of the wall of monitors. Immediately, red lights popped out of the walls and started flashing, and a frightening siren started blaring.

"Lucas, Charizard… follow me! I have an escape tunnel!" Silver shouted. He ran over to the side of the room, and pressed his hand against the wall. Immediately, a door appeared and slid back into the wall.

And explosion rocked the facility from somewhere deep in the mountain, and the shockwave caused a tremor in the ground. Silver's cameras went offline, and sparks started flying from the room. The ceiling buckled in one of the corners, and rocks spewed from the gap.

"Let's go, we don't have much time!" Silver yelled. Lucas and Charizard rushed into the entrance as yet another detonation shook the mountain, and the door closed behind them. They were in a slanted elevator that went down to the base of the mountain, but the elevator itself was in a shape that allowed them to stand up.

More detonations rocked the Earth, and Lucas could hear the sounds of crumbling rocks.

"So… what now?" Silver asked.

"I don't know. Jack, Lily, Charizard and I go wherever the world takes us. Life is just one big adventure… I'm happy that you'll be a part of it now, too," Lucas replied. Silver smiled back and nodded.

"Do your friends know that I'm with you?" Silver asked.

"No. I came up there alone with Charizard. They stayed behind, and Lugia is watching them," Lucas responded.

"You know, I was watching the Sinnoh Tournament on TV when you battled my second-in-command Greygar. I must say, even though I was incredibly angry, I was also impressed at your skill. You, Charizard, and Lugia make a great team!" Silver said. Lucas and Charizard both laughed.

"Thanks!" Lucas replied.

"But… how did you get that scar across your eye? It looks pretty bad," Silver asked.

"Well, after I battled Greygar, he injected Charizard with R and ran out before I could get to him. Charzy here doesn't remember anything, but he gave me this scar," Lucas explained.

"I didn't know Greygar did that. At that time, my intentions were to stall you, not hurt you. I only wanted to hurt you after you destroyed the Game Corner. I'm really sorry," Silver apologized.

"Don't worry about it now, man. That's the past," Lucas replied.

Pretty soon, the elevator came to a stop at the bottom of the mountain. Lucas and Charizard exited, before Silver pressed a button and leapt out of it. After Silver jumped out, the doors shut and multiple rocks around the tiny entrance caved in, blocking the elevator and sealing the shaft forever.

"That was an emergency concealment system. It's to make sure nobody finds it… and hopefully, I'll never find it again, either," Silver explained. Lucas put a hand on his older brother.

"I'm proud of you, Silver. Now come on, let's get back to the others!" Lucas said.

ʘ

Jack and Lily heard a loud boom coming from the mountain. They looked up and saw a massive explosion coming out of a hole in the mountain, and then more followed. Surely, Lucas had been in there, and after a moment of putting two and two together, they realized that he was gone.

They felt no emotions, surprisingly. He did what he had to do – Team Rocket was destroyed, and he had completed his mission. Lucas had warned them that he might not come back, and fulfilled his promise that things would return to normal.

For a moment, silence filled the forest. The sound of thunder continued to emanate from the mountain, however, which signaled that the explosions were far underground as well.

Eventually, they heard a rustling in the bushes, and Lugia lifted his head and looked at the spot where it was coming from. Before long, three figures stumbled into the forest, completely out of breath.

"Lucas, Charizard, you're alive!" Jack shouted. "How did you make it out?"

"A quick elevator and a helping hand, that's what," Lucas said, smiling. He stepped to the side to reveal Silver.

"YOU!" Lily shouted. Jack balled his fists and Lugia got into an attack position.

"Guys, wait! He's on our side now! I talked with him… he regrets everything. He wants to join us, and make a better name for himself," Lucas explained.

"He's right, guys… I can't tell you how sorry I am," Silver said. Jack and Lily stared at him blankly.

"You kidnapped us, tried to take over Charizard's mind, and almost killed out best friend. Do you think we'll forgive you that easily?" they asked.

"No. No, I don't, actually. I don't expect you to forgive me at all. But I do want you guys to know that I'm sorry for everything. There's nothing I can do to make it right now, but I can give you an apology," Silver said.

"You know, guys," Lucas said. "It wasn't me that blew up the complex."

"Wait, what? Then who was it? Charizard?" Lily asked.

"No. It was Silver. He really had a change of heart, and he pressed the button that blew up the facility. He's also the one that sealed the elevator shaft to make sure that Team Rocket can't get back to it," Lucas explained.

"Really?" Jack asked, bewildered. He couldn't believe his ears, and Lily couldn't either.

"Yep! He did! He wants to come with us and make a new life for himself. He regrets everything," Lucas replied. Jack, Lily, and Lugia stared at Silver for a minute. The man sheepishly came forward and spoke.

"Please, guys. I understand that you don't want to forgive me that easily, but I'm asking you to give me a chance. I want to change my reputation," he said.

After a moment, Jack and Lily responded. "Alright. We forgive you… but we won't forget what you did. You can come with us."

"I don't expect you to forget at all. If I were you, I wouldn't either," Silver replied.

Lucas and the gang talked for a minute, before coming to the conclusion that they should head for the nearest town and get more supplies, although that was at least a day's journey away. Charizard and Lucas walked alongside Silver, and Jack and Lily walked alongside Lugia.

They heard a crumbling behind them, and a tremor that shook the Earth to its core. They all turned around to look at the mountain. The top of the mountain was crumbling, and before long, it collapsed in on itself. The peak of Mount Moon fell on top of itself, and loud creaking sounds could be heard from the interior. More explosions could be seen coming out of gaps in the rock, and debris filled the air around the peak of the mountain. Before long, the mountaintop collapsed and caved in with a thunderous crack that filled the sky, and massive fragments of the mountain slid down the face of the landmark.

Silver turned his head and walked in the direction they were travelling, not looking back any longer. Lucas and Charizard caught up with him, and the others followed soon after.

"Let's go, guys," Silver said. "There's nothing left for me here."

"Alright. We should reach the next town by this time tomorrow. Let's go and find a place to rest," Lucas replied. He looked at Charizard, who gave a tired nod of approval and a wide smile. They had finally completed their mission, but with the most unexpected ending they could have imagined.

ʘ

Night fell sooner than expected, and the group had settled upon a cliff that overlooked another mountain range. Hours earlier, Lucas had returned Silver's pokéball to him, which was apparently the only Pokémon he had on him – a Golbat, the evolution of the bat Pokémon Zubat. They had partied for hours, celebrating the fall of Team Rocket and the freedom they had yearned for. All of Lucas' Pokémon had come out to join in the celebration – Dragonite, Flygon, Lugia, Mew, Porygon-Z, and even Lapras had partied the evening away, dancing and flying around the cliff.

As the sun set below the horizon and the stars came out to play, the weary travelers packed in for the night. The Milky Way glistened over the peak of a distant mountain, and light pollution from the town they were travelling to beamed over the side of the range. One by one, the group and the Pokémon settled down and fell asleep, all except for Lucas and Charizard.

They sat at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the stars and the landscapes before them. Wind blew across the top of the ledge, gently howling in their ears as they sat in silence. Charizard's white, glowing mist illuminated the air around the two as it blew in the breeze.

"I can't believe we finally did it, buddy," Lucas said.

"I know, right?" Charizard replied. "It was quite the adventure, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. It's hard to believe that I've finally met the brother I never got to know, and destroyed Team Rocket in the process," Lucas responded. "And I couldn't have done it without you."

After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "So… what now? After we go to this town, where will we go next?"

"I don't know, honestly," Charizard said. "Maybe somewhere beautiful? Peaceful?"

"Maybe… or maybe we can continue training. Migrate away from Kanto and start anew, as a family. Let go of all of our worries, you know?" Lucas suggested. The dragon nodded in delight. Lucas looked in his eyes and saw the weariness that had plagued their journey. Charizard looked back and saw the same thing in his best friend's eyes, too.

Looking behind him, he examined his friends. Silver was sleeping near the fire, his Golbat hanging from a tree branch nearby. Jack and Lily were laying near Lugia, who was sleeping beside a small pond. In that pond, Lapras was floating upright but with eyes closed. The rest of Lucas' Pokémon were sleeping next to one another near the edge of the woods. Mew, however, was floating near Golbat, eyes peacefully closed and a smile on the mythical Pokémon's snout.

"Come on, old friend… let's get some sleep," Lucas said. He laid down near the side of the cliff, looking out on the landscape. Charizard laid down beside him, wrapping his arm around him and pulling him close. His tail wrapped around Lucas, giving off a soft light in front of them both, and the dragon gave out a sigh of fatigue.

"Thanks for everything, Charizard," Lucas said after a moment.

"Huh?" Charizard asked. He curled his head to look at Lucas.

"You've been there for everything. You've helped me through so much, you know? I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for you," Lucas explained. "And I've never properly thanked you, old friend."

"You don't need to thank me, Lucas. We're not only best friends… we're family," Charizard replied. "I'll always be by your side."

Lucas smiled and draped his arm over Charizard's clawed hand. He remembered his thoughts after finding Mew, the words that always pushed him to continue his travels. And he felt that now was an appropriate time to say them. "As long as I have you by my side, Charizard… I can go anywhere."

They both smiled, closed their eyes, and fell asleep underneath the light of the galaxy.

Epilogue: Time is Dancing

Days turned to months, and months turned to years. Eventually, after another decade of journeying together, the group decided that they each had their own destiny to follow and their own dreams to chase. It was hard for Jack, Lily, Silver, and Lucas to split up after being a family for so long, but they realized that it was for the best.

They made a pact to one day find each other again, no matter what or where.

Jack eventually made his way to the Hoenn region, far to the southwest of Kanto. He lived a prosperous life, and after many years, managed to evolve his Shelgon into a Salamence. After this, he battled in championships all across the region, eventually being known as the "Tamer of the Battlefield" for his ability to face multiple opponents with only one Pokémon.

Jack, after many more years, found love, got married, and built a home in the forest. As he grew older and his career declined, he settled down with his wife and Pokémon friend, living a quiet life.

Lily continued her studies of Pokémon medicine and biology, as she had when the group was travelling together. She found herself in a medical university, where she earned a PhD in Pokémon Nursing. After this feat, she made her way to the Sinnoh region.

Practicing for many years in a renowned Pokémon Center in Ryme City (a place where trainers can heal their battle-worn Pokémon), Lily became known as one of the greatest Pokémon veterinarians in the world, and operated on thousands of Pokémon. She converted the abandoned genetics lab there into the Universal Pokémon Hospital in Ryme City, which cared for all species of Pokémon, whether trained or wild.

Silver remained true to his promise to the others, and until the day he died, spent his life running charities and organizations. He became the founder of a new underground empire, however this one was focused on finding and returning lost or stolen Pokémon to their trainers. Soon after, he became a private investigator who worked alongside Looker, and the two of them travelled between the different regions looking for work. Eventually, Silver grew old and retired from being a private eye. After keeping his promise for 50 years, he passed away.

The Team Rocket Search Squad that plagued Lucas and his friends was taken into custody and tried in court. They were charged with crimes against Pokémon, attempted murder, and use of a dangerous and illegal pokéball. For multiple counts of each of these, they were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Years later, Lucas and Charizard went back to Lucas' old home, honoring his mother and cleaning her grave one more time. The house that stood there before was still standing and repaired, and the lawn was fixed from the battle many years before.

They eventually migrated to the Unova region, which was across the ocean to the far North, and the birthplace of Xerneas and Yveltal. Lapras was more than happy for an inter-continental journey. When they finally arrived, Lucas travelled for another year before finally settling down and starting a new life. Over the course of many months, and with the help of his best friend, he rebuilt his childhood home on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Lucas stopped wandering the world at the age of 35, and settled at his new home for the rest of his life with Charizard. He preferred a solitary life, away from people, but did get visitors every once in a while. At one point, Jesse and James were passing through and met Lucas, decades after they battled alongside one another.

He tried to keep all of his Pokémon for as long as he could, but all good things come to an end. Lucas realized that, now that their travels were over, he was only going to waste the lives of his last friends. Gradually, over the course of many years, Lucas released his Pokémon into the wild. Dragonite and Flygon parted side-by-side as close friends, and Porygon-Z returned to Kanto to find his original owner. He released Lapras into the ocean one last time, and never saw him again, yet could somehow still hear his song every night in the waves.

Lucas finally had to let go of Lugia and Mew. They insisted that they stay with Lucas until the end, but Lucas told them that his journey was over and they should find a new trainer. After an emotional goodbye, they left, but promised to meet again someday. Lucas accepted this promise, and kept the Water Gem in his pocket as a reminder of his friendship with both of them, along with their respective pokéballs.

At long last, it was only Lucas and Charizard left. Years stretched into decades, and both Lucas and Charizard grew old. For the remainder of their lives, they lived together in solitude and reminisced on the journeys they had in the past. Memories played a major role in the last years of their lives, as they remembered how they first met, when they found Jack and Lily, the battle with Giovanni, and his confrontation with Silver.

Almost 70 years after they became family, Lucas and Charizard never got older. However, time continued to tramp on as if they never walked the Earth. Arceus, Xerneas, and Yveltal welcomed them into the afterlife with pleasure, remembering the promise that they both fulfilled and how they made the world a better place. Giving both the dragon and the boy their youth, Lucas was finally reunited with his mother… and before long, Jack and Lily as well. Silver joined soon after, and all of his Pokémon found Lucas again.

As they had when they were young and bold, they went on a new journey together.

This is the end of Lucas and Charizard's story – the story of one of the greatest, most compassionate, and caring Pokémon teams known to all.

The End

Reference Table of Pokémon Mentioned

Charizard Lugia

Mew Lapras

Dragonite Flygon

Porygon-Z Shelgon

Salamence Raichu

Sceptile Hypno

Tyrantrum Melmetal

Torterra Salandit

Salazzle Onix

Jolteon Golbat

Meowth Arbok

Weezing Arceus

Xerneas Yveltal

No matter how fast time may be dancing

Or how far we venture, even oceans away,

May the stars glisten upon the mountains and seas

And keep our friendship tightly knit.

For an eternal fire glistens in both our eyes

Preventing us from saying our goodbyes,

And we lay in the morning dew

Knowing it will be alright.

173


End file.
